"Fiora, would you please introduce Pyra to where she is going to be training and who she'll be training with? As for you, Evander, you should probably get back to your training session. I see on your schedule that you're supposed to be there already."
Evander left with a sheepish grin. Meanwhile, Pyra was overwhelmed by everything that had happened that day. She would either become a serial killer, trying to murder her sister—whom she hadn't met yet because the other group of rebels had kidnapped her as a baby—or her sister would become a mass murderer intent on killing Pyra. In the end, one of them would have to triumph over the other. Not really the best options here, she thought grimly.
As these thoughts flooded her mind, Pyra started thinking about her parents. Without realizing it, she blurted out, "When can I meet my parents?"
There was an awkward silence in the room. Finally, General Nightshade spoke. "We have no idea where they are. Your father has been missing ever since your birth. He was supposed to go on a mission to become a double agent for the other rebel group, but he disappeared, and we haven't had contact with him. Your mother was kidnapped, and we haven't heard from her for 13 years now. We sent other members to try and find out what's going on, but none of them have returned either. We believe they're either captured or..." He left the rest unsaid, but the unspoken word echoed in Pyra's head: dead.
Pyra had always spent her life knowing that she didn't have parents and that, if they were alive, they didn't want her. She had struggled with this at different points in her life, but eventually, she had learned to cope. However, hearing this news brought back all the sadness and anger. She nodded silently as Fiora and Pyra left the room.
They walked over to the far end of the large cave, where a hidden door was concealed within the stone wall. Fiora touched the wall in a specific way, and a stone door appeared. She opened it, the stone scraping against the cave floor, and bright sunlight hit Pyra's face. Squinting, she breathed in the fresh air, taking it all in.
They stepped into a field filled with various training stations. There were weapon setups, a station with armor, swords, bows and arrows, and other weapons. There were shooting areas and stuffed dummies. Around 10 to 20 kids, ranging in age from 11 to 16, were fighting and sharpening blades. Adults stood nearby, offering guidance.
As Fiora spoke to Pyra, she explained, "Most of the children here are members' kids, but some had nowhere else to go, so we took them in and started to train them. A few others heard of our cause and came to join us. You'll be training with some of these kids, and you'll also have mentors to help you. At the end of the year, if General Nightshade thinks you're ready, you'll graduate and become a full member, going on missions. I'm not a full member yet, as I mentioned, but a few of the kids here are."
She pointed to a few kids, mostly around 15 or 16. The last one she pointed to was a boy around Pyra's age he had pointed ears so probably around 14. He was practicing sword fighting with an opponent a couple of years older. His eyes gleamed in the sunlight, showing subtle brown hues. He was tall, about an inch taller than Pyra, and wore a black fighting suit with a belt that held various weapons—a couple of daggers, a gun, and bullets for reloading. As he slashed quickly, knocking his opponent's weapon out of his hands, the boy handed the sword back, and they resumed sparring.
"That's Alexander, but most people call him Alex. Come on," Fiora gestured, and they approached him. The two boys paused their fighting, and Alexander's opponent walked away to grab some water.
"Hey, Alex, this is Pyra. You've been assigned to help her train with her fire powers. Your father thinks she could potentially learn how to control heat in the air to create illusions like you."
Control the heat in the air? Pyra thought, I didn't know my abilities could go that far.
Fiora whispered to Pyra, "He's an illusionist. He can create powerful illusions, more powerful than his dad, General Nightshade."
"General Nightshade is his dad?!" Pyra whispered back, finally noticing the similarities between the two—the dark hair and the green eyes.
Alexander stood there quietly, waiting for them to stop whispering. When they did, he gave Pyra a disdainful look.
"This is the girl everyone's been talking about?" he asked with a sneer.
"She has a name," Pyra snapped.
"Yes, I heard, but it would be better to call you 'Fire,' since that's what it means, right? But then again, I suppose it's ironic. Who named you?"
Pyra hesitated before responding. "No idea. I was found on the street in a basket with a note that had my name and date of birth on it. Someone found me and took me to an orphanage."
"Well, your parents certainly had a sense of irony," Alexander said dryly. "But seriously, how old are you? Ten? They should've waited longer before bringing you in, if at all. This prophecy business sounds absurd to me. We don't need a prophecy to solve our problems. We should do that ourselves, not that you'd be much help even if we needed you, which we don't."
Pyra glared at him. "I'm 13, for the record, and I don't care whether you think I'm not good enough for your standards. The fact is, you need my help. If you didn't, you would've already sorted everything out. This prophecy was told thousands of years ago; I'm sure there were people who thought the same way you do, but it doesn't look like much has been sorted."
Alexander glared back but said nothing.
"Aaaaanyways!" Fiora drawled. "Will you train her or not?"
"I don't need his help," Pyra interjected.
Fiora looked at her and responded, "Whether you like it or not, you've been ordered to train with him. If you refuse, you can't become a member. Not my call."
Alexander smirked. "I'll teach her since she clearly needs it."
Pyra rolled her eyes. Dealing with this brat was something she had to do to become a member, so she decided to go along with it—for now.