The loud, clanging bell yanked me out of sleep with the kind of urgency that felt like an emergency. My eyes snapped open, taking in the dim, unfamiliar room around me. Right… the guardians, the Heartstones, the other realms. I rubbed my face, trying to shake the last remnants of sleep away, and stumbled to my feet, looking around for anything resembling a toothbrush. Surprisingly, there was one resting neatly beside a small basin, already set with water.
I brushed my teeth quickly, the minty taste helping me feel slightly more alert. When I glanced around for clothes, though, I found a dark green robe draped over a nearby chair, along with a belt that seemed to be braided from some sort of rough cord. I picked up the robe with a grimace. Primitive didn't even begin to cover it. This thing looked like something a monk or a medieval farmer might wear.
But, well, there was nothing else. I shrugged it on and tied the belt, trying to ignore the itchy fabric, then opened the door and stepped into the hallway. A stream of other students—also in similar robes, I noted with relief—were moving in the same direction. It didn't take long to find the classroom, a large, circular room with tall, arched windows that filled the space with a pale light.
Once we were all seated, a woman appeared at the front of the room. She wore her robe with a kind of grace that I couldn't imagine pulling off, and her silver hair was tied back in an elaborate braid that cascaded over her shoulder. Her expression was kind but serious, her eyes sharp as she looked us over. She held up her hand, and we immediately fell silent.
"Good morning, guardians-to-be," she began, her voice echoing slightly in the high-ceilinged room. "My name is Lyra, and I will be instructing you on the knowledge of dimensions. This information will be crucial as you take on your duties, so I expect you all to pay close attention."
She moved toward the chalkboard and picked up a piece of chalk. "Each of you," she continued, "is bound to a Heartstone that protects your respective realms. But as guardians, you are not confined to your own realms alone." She began sketching a series of circles on the board, each connected by lines. "In fact, guardians must have knowledge of all dimensions, as there may come a time when you'll be called to assist in battles across realms."
I leaned forward, interested despite myself. It sounded like something straight out of a storybook—realms and battles and mysterious Heartstones. Lyra tapped the chalkboard, her gaze steady. "This dimension we are currently in," she said, "is unique. It exists outside space and time. That is to say, it isn't quite real, and because of that, the flow of time here is… unpredictable. In here, minutes may pass, but days could go by outside. Conversely, weeks may go by here while mere minutes pass in your realms."
A murmur passed through the class, and I felt my stomach twist. So time itself was beyond our control here?
Lyra continued, undeterred. "There are beings known as Time Keepers who monitor and manage the flow of time across all dimensions. But"—she raised a finger for emphasis—"they are none of your concern. Your duty, first and foremost, is to protect the Heartstone of your realm. Each of you has been chosen for this purpose, and the task of safeguarding the flow of time is for others."
As she spoke, she wrote several key terms on the chalkboard—Heartstone, dimension, Time Keepers—along with diagrams of what looked like realms or perhaps gateways between them. I took in the terms, committing them to memory, though it felt strange. Just yesterday, I'd been in a normal classroom in a normal town, with nothing more pressing than next week's biology test.
I was still lost in thought when the bell rang, the loud, metallic sound filling the room and making a few students jump. The moment it stopped, students began dashing out, eager to escape, their footsteps echoing down the hallway.
I followed, my mind still spinning with Lyra's words, trying to make sense of it all. Just as I stepped into the hall, I saw Galen approaching from the opposite direction, a small grin on his face.
"My favourite earthling. How's it going?"
"I'm good. Are we done with classes for today?"
"I wish. We usually have one class and one on the field training."
"You're talking like you've been here for a while."
"Yeah I have. I didn't pass last semester so I'm here again. Unless I complete my training, I won't ever be able to go back home to protect my realm."
"So what if something bad happens there as you're here?"
"I guess Alistair will take care of it. I heard he's crazy powerful or something like that."
"I've been here for some time so I've been able to narrow down the location of the time keepers to three locations."
"Why do you want to find the location of the time keepers?"
"Don't you want to know how time works? Don't you want to be able to go back and change some things? You can't tell me there's no incident in your life you would've wanted to happen differently."
As soon as Galen said that, I remembered my mom. If I could go back, I would be able to save her. Galen had a point though, there are incidents that I would like to change.
"What's this about finding the time keepers?" A voice said from right in front of us. When we looked closer, we saw that it was Aiden.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"This is so like you Galen. Trying to do things that you know we're not supposed to."
"You're not going to tell on me, are you?"
"Nahh, I'm not a snitch." Aiden suddenly turned to me. "It's better you don't join him in his quest to find the time keepers. He's going to get you into trouble."
"So you and me, tomorrow night? Finding the time keepers?" Galen asked me as soon as Aiden walked away.
"I'll think about it." I replied. "But for now, I have to get to class and you do too."