In a bid to catch up with what everyone else as doing, I started spending a lot of time in the library with Aahan and Nia.

Squeezing the team practices in between the increasing practical classes had been difficult. Although I was getting used to life at Asteria, there was a gnawing worry at the back of my head.
I still didn't know what my element was, and now most of the class had done demonstrating their powers. I was unable to summon my powers at my own free will. The only time they had presented themself was when I had felt threatened. Even then, it was highly unreliable. 

I soon learnt that Nia was a wielder of fire and Aahan of water. Maybe it was simply my imagination, but I had a feeling that Aahan didn't particularly enjoy wielding his powers. Both of them were already quite advanced at controlling their magic, although none as much as Aris. 

We sat one afternoon in the library, where I was trying to read a particularly tricky chapter about the history of Obscura.

'After a few hundred years of inception of Obscura, the Achtsenza (Vanity, Pride, Envy, Wrath, Greed, Lust, Sloth and Deceit) started gaining prominence. In the year 423, the extensive power of the Achtsenza resulted in the physical manifestation of these sins in the form of shadow creatures who started roaming the streets of every country in Obscura. 

Some say that they even made it to the Fairy isle, although this claim is disputable. 

Eyewitnesses recorded their observations of people engulfed by the creatures as 'Vaziho' whose characteristic features include 'empty' and 'soulless' eyes. They roamed the streets in search for the sin that had corrupted them. These victims were considered to be random. (again, a disputable claim since many believed they themselves invited the onslaught of Achtsenza by yielding to the very sins whose shadows later consumed them)'

"All of this," I muttered, "I never realized Obscura was so religious."

Nia knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "Religious?"

"It's this thing in the mortal world," Aahan replied before I could interject. "The mortals believe in higher powers and worship them in a number of ways. Some have deities, others don't."

Nia gaped between us before I realized that she must have been in Obscura ever since birth. Religion there was perhaps different. Aahan on the other hand, may have been from Earth, or he could simply be well versed since he seemed to know everything anyway.

"Religion is not a thing here, Zeke," Aahan said, gazing at me. "Not the same as Earth at least. There's the Faith of the six Deus. Obscurans, all the countries, worship the six elements. In fact, they have ever since the Dark War."

I blinked, unable to process anything. I knew the Deus were powerful and had come  to the conclusion that they were analogous to 'Gods' on Earth.

Nia explained, "The Deus were initially just Nuvues who rose from the ranks of their Guilds. They created an army of strong Nuvues and spearheaded the Dark War which pushed the shadow manifestations into a timeless void said to be suspended in the celestial skies. It's called The Chasm. It was then sealed by Helios- the Starlight wielder or the first Asterius, who was one of the Deus. Of course-" her face darkened, "he perished."

"Horse shit," Aahan said nonchalantly, fixing his eyes on the open book in front of him as he turned a page and shook his head. "That part is bullshit. I don't believe he is dead. As long as the Deus maintain their divine status, they remain immortal."

I gazed at them, amazed. "What happened to this army?" My eyes widened as realization struck me. "They turned to be the Vartiyahs?"

Aahan nodded. "Precisely. However, unlike the Deus, they weren't immortal hence the Deus needed a new army of Nuvues and created the school- Asteria- to recruit capable Nuvues."

"What made them immortal?"  I asked.

Aahan scrunched up his face as if thinking hard. "Their powers did," he sighed softly. "The Deus aren't really...physical forms. They live and breathe through their element. Fire. Water. Earth and such. Their powers have ascended to such a level that their life is no longer rooted in tangibility. It is postulated that they live as long as their element lives. Unless of course, a newer Nuvue dethrones you in which case their power overwhelms your own. That's why they don't like anyone who can become as strong as they are."

"Wicked," I exclaimed under my breath, awed. Aahan shrugged and went back to his book and Nia picked up another and started reading it. I shifted my gaze around the ornate library, my eyes studying the various books kept there. 

The library at Asteria was much better than the one at Stonewall. Apart from its regal architecture, the Asterian library also differed in the fact that students actually seemed to be studying here rather than groping each other behind some long forgotten bookshelf.

It had a strange, rustic charm to it. It was well lit, mostly by artificial lighting, save a few rays of the sun which filtered merrily through the high set windows. There were large mahogany shelves and rows upon rows of books. I hadn't had the time nor the will to explore the rest of the library. However, even I could appreciate the fantastical scent of the pages.

"How's practice?" Nia asked as she glanced at me from the top of a thick book simply titled 'Vartiyahs.'

I sighed, massaging my temple as the memories of the latest encounter with Elijah came back to me. He was acting meaner day by day, seemingly growing even more restless due to some unknown factor. Or maybe it was just my proximity that was making him behave that way. 

"Not the best," I admitted as Aahan glanced at me. "He made me run seven rounds of the ground because I missed one shot."  I shook my head. "Maybe it was a mistake. This is giving the wanker a greater chance to annoy the fuck out of me." 

Nia nodded her head sympathetically. The corner of her lips seemed to tilt slightly as if she was about to smile and I bit my tongue. It was difficult to maintain my pretense of what was considered 'normal' language here now that I was gradually getting accustomed to what was never mine.

"To give him the benefit of the doubt, I think he's under a lot of pressure," she concluded. 

Aahan nodded. "Myra Brown was a legendary captain to Skyline," he said. Skyline was the unbelievably corny name for the Asterian team. "And well...he seems to lack certain leadership qualities. People say he simply succeeded because he is an Ellerman. Considering the fact that one of his peers, Mitchell, was much better than him on the field, it does make sense." 

I sighed. It was true that the bad blood between Mitchell and Elijah had been apparent ever since the trials. They didn't seem to get along at all, giving conflicting directions and creating chaos within the team. This resulted in Elijah losing his temper, which was already on edge and yell at everyone around him.

His consistent behaviour caused one of the senior players, Ashley to stomp off. An extra had to take her place, and the team performance had reduced even further.

"It's a disaster," I whispered. "At this rate, there is no way we can win. We won't even be able to put up a good fight."

Aahan sighed. "True. Which is why carrom is superior. " He went back to his book on calculus and didn't speak further. I gazed at him for a while. I had come to the conclusion that Aahan simply loved to learn, an admirable quality, albeit out of my comprehension. 

A few days later, an announcement by Professor Everhart, our practical magic teacher, drove the game out of my mind.

"We are nearing our second semester, which means most of you now are comfortable with your respective elements." My heart sank as she continued. "Therefore, the Vartiyahs will be arriving a month from now. You will be selected-" she had to raise her voice as a massive din broke out in the class as everyone started talking at once, "–into different Guilds based on your affinities and training henceforth will be conducted under teachers who are experts in that particular element." 

I gulped as an excited chatter broke out around me.

A small smile played on Everhart's face as she continued. "I realize that this might be challenging -" her cold eyes flashed, "-but I want you all to know that you will have the full support of the Asterian staff at your disposal. Should you require any help, my chamber is always open to entertain your doubts." 

The class was dismissed after half an hour as everyone around me started talking excitedly about the Selection. I walked over to professor Everhart, who was arranging her books on the desk.

"Professor, a word?" I asked as she glanced at me once and nodded curtly. 

We waited until the rest of the class had disappeared. Aris shot me a questioning look , raising an eyebrow at me as he left the classroom and I finally began. I was sceptical about admitting to her that I had no idea about my powers when most of my classmates were already quite advanced. But I was desperate.

"I don't know my element yet," I said. "How do I discover that?"

She stared at me, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully for a while before she answered, "Tell me, Hunt, have you ever experienced any bursts of power? Disasters? Anything out of the ordinary?"

I averted my gaze as my mind reeled back to the many out of control experiences I had had. Each a worse catastrophe than the last. 

"Yes," I answered. "But they have just been a burst of light. Power. I cannot categorize it into any of the elements that I know." I shook my head as I continued. "They have been unpredictable, appearing, and disappearing fleetingly." 

A part of me had always wondered if it was the Znicit which was responsible for fucking up my powers. But I knew that ever since my earliest memories, I had often experienced explosive bursts of energy that left me in staggering pain.

One memory among the omnibus of them stood out starkly. A terrifying memory I was not prepared to relive. It was tethered in the darkest corner of my mind, ready to unhinge at any moment. 

"Vexing," she said, scrunching her nose as if thinking hard. "I could arrange some private lessons for you if you're willing, Ezekiel." Her voice softened. "Your circumstances...are rather different than any other student here. There are certain tricks that I can teach you, which might help you to connect with your inner pool."

I nodded, even though the idea of private lessons was daunting. "Alright. When do we start?"

"Friday. Seven sharp in my chamber." She collected the books in her arms. "I suggest you keep your strength up, Ezekiel. Such kinds of things...unpredictable powers can often go off track."

*

Friday passed in a haze, and I soon found myself at the practice session in the evening. As an extra,  I was still required to train in a full-fledged manner with the rest of the team. 

"I suggest to keep up the spirit-" Elijah said as he paced in front of us. "We engage in a friendly match. This will help expose our weaknesses and strengths, and we can work from that, instead of training every person on individual skills." 

Mitchell scoffed. "Are you kidding Ellerman?" he said. "The match is this Wednesday. Switching up tactics this late will have disastrous consequences."

"If you don't shut your fucking mouth, you'll have disastrous consequences." Elijah spat.

I was slightly taken aback by his sudden burst and choice of words. I had never heard him swear before, something that was strictly forbidden in the royal household. There were tiny murmurs as Mitchell stood up, his entire form bristling with anger. "What will you do?" 

"Mitch-" another teammate, Benedict, got up, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "He's right, Elijah," he said. "We cannot switch up tactics now. We need to refine whatever we have to put up a fight atleast."

Elijah glared at him, his jaw set. "Whoever has any issues with my training methods, get the fuck out of here."

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. And then, Mitchell scoffed, removing his team jersey and throwing it at Elijah's feet. "I hope you can live with the burden, Ellerman." 

He stomped off.

Cowed silence followed his departure, and just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, two more people stood up. Brown and Kensington. They shook their head slightly before following suit.

Our team of eight had been reduced to five. Skyline had four extras, including me. I was half afraid more were going to walk away, but thankfully no one did. Horrifying silence fell, with the sole noise being that of the horses scampering nervously on the ground behind us, as if, they too could feel the thick palpable tension suspended in the air like a suffocating blanket.

Elijah's face was unreadable. He seemed to steel himself, standing up to his full, way too tall height as he announced, "We will pick this up tomorrow."

He left without another word. 

Things were terse in the locker room that evening. Most of the team sitting silently and gazing into nothing as Elijah walked into it.

"Bring Mitch back," Aris said, his arms crossed in front of him as he leaned against one of the lockers. "Bring him back, and the others will follow."

Elijah stared at him. "No," he answered, his jaw set and eyes slightly narrowed.

"Come on, man," Hector 'resourceful' Beer said. "Just for this match. Then we can sort out our differences-" his voice faltered as Elijah glared daggers at him. I remembered Hector emerging with Megan in the elevator and wondered if, on some level, Elijah knew about it. 

"I told you," he answered coldly. "Whoever has problems with my training should get the fuck out of the team." 

No one moved or said anything as he spoke, "That is what I thought." He continued, "If it is required, I'll be the sole person on Skyline. But I will not tolerate incessantly arrogant toerags who don't know their places." 

I thought it was rather ironical of him to be referring to anyone else as 'arrogant' when he himself was the frontliner of the adjective. 

I felt a surge of anger as his eyes flitted to mine. His nostrils seemed to flare, his form almost vibrating slightly as if he was seething with hate and anger. As if he was threatening me, even though I had made it my life's mission to stray as far away from him as was possible. He didn't say anything as the locker room slowly started emptying. Finally, he walked out, leaving Aris and me alone.

"There's something really wrong with him," Aris said, shaking his head as he neatly folded the black team T-shirt. "To be honest, I am a little worried." 

I knew on every level that I wasn't worthy of being where I was and a mere glaring look from Elijah was enough to tell me that he thought the same. 

I didn't answer Aris, still staring at where my half-brother had disappeared a few moments ago. Maybe something was bothering him, perhaps something was not, but I had my own demons to tackle that night.