dedicated to Archdav Archdemon Dave Platypus of all the Platypuses with demons for Jigsaw who told me to progress in life I must get my spacing right.

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That evening, after hastily packing my scarce belongings, I stood near the palace gates. I gazed at the black grilles, oddly reminiscent of a prison. It felt strangely foreboding, as if they were used to holding captives.

I sighed, thankful that at least the night wasn't cold enough yet for my breath to turn into fog. I gazed around my dark surroundings and gently massaged my throbbing temple. Despite the fact that my wound had completely healed, the blood loss had left me slightly weakened, hence the headache I assumed.

It was almost midnight, and the guards seemed to be studying me intently. So much so that it made my skin crawl in uneasiness. I glanced at my watch, its glass so broken that it was difficult to tell the time. But I refused to dispose of it out of sheer sentiment. It was the first thing my dad ever gave me. Back when I reached Evimeria for the first time. I had changed the band multiple times before, but the dial remained the same.

In a strange way, perhaps pathetic even, I felt like the dial was the part of my legacy that I wasn't quite allowed to flaunt. 

Hunt. I couldn't use 'Ellerman.' To maintain the difference between the royals and lowly bastard. But then again, I knew my prefix to the regal name would only deteriorate its grandiosity.

I eyed the guards silently, shivering inconspicuously at the ominous air radiating off them. They wore the matte black armour and uniform with the golden chain on their breast pocket, the standard uniform of the King's guard. Designed to let the shadows engulf them, to amplify stealth and obscurity. 

It was a clear night. Stars twinkled gaily above. I glanced upwards, watching the breathtaking celestial enigmas for a while. Through the chaos that my life had been, the stars had remained my constant companion. Even while on Earth, I would spend hours lying on my back and gazing upwards at the shimmering orbs suspended in the unyielding raven. Their infallible presence had oddly comforted me. How they remained invincibly anchored in the infinite distance, even as my own life was uprooted multiple times. A cruelly beautiful contrast. 

A seemingly vagabond chill coursed through my spine. The soreness from earlier however, had thankfully disappeared. Though I still shuddered whenever I pictured the Zverya. Its bloodshot eyes, matted fur, beastly growl and dagger-like teeth. 

After a while, a sleek, black car rolled over in front of me, and the door opened. Aidan glanced at me and gave half a smile. "Get in, Hunt."

Inadvertently, I wondered if anyone at Asteria would know that my father was Augustus Ellerman. Maybe in a way it was better that they didn't know my true identity.

I lugged my bag back into the back seat before making my way to the front. My heart raced as the car started moving and soon was on the street, with the palace disappearing in the rearview mirror. It looked mystical, majestic. Its many towers dotted with twinkling lights against the night background. I marvelled at the way the twinkling stars somehow still upheld their infallible luminosity against the bright lamps of the palace. It was a palace holding thousands of years of legacy in its walls. A legacy that I wasn't included in.

A part of me was happy, although bewildered that my dad had wanted me to participate in Arvinna. That was as good as publicly announcing that he did give several fucks about his bastard son and was not afraid to accept me. All I had faced from the rest of the family was either neutrality or hostility. I could understand their behaviour, however difficult it made my survival there. I didn't know how the rest of the Royals would treat me, but in all honesty, I didn't want to know either. The occasional curious glances and whispers I had endured at Evie's birthday seemed enough to last a lifetime.

I focused on the road in front of me, gazing in amazement as we drove through the ornate capital town of Ophelia- an amalgamation of magic and technology. I had never been to any of the Evimerian cities. I had spent a few years at Ophelia, but rarely ever had the chance to venture out. Save the few times that my dad had taken me to the annual fair. Memories I still cherished.

I remembered the vivid stalls and magical handicrafts that vendors sold. Candles and jars of everlasting fire, each in a vibrant hue extracted as if by hand from the rainbow, sweets that never exhausted and held enough nutrients to fulfil all requirements of the body, musical boxes that would play a different tune each time it was opened, wallpapers that could be stuck onto the ceiling and walls to create actual rain, snow or a realistic landscape. 

I had been particularly taken with the music box. I still had a similar kind in my bag. Considering that I had little belongings, I had always kept them with utmost care. 

As for the trinkets, I knew that Nuvues weren't capable of creating them by their elemental magic. They were elf, pixie, fairy or dwarf made. None of whom I had ever seen physically. 

However, I knew that the ancient, elusive creatures had magic that wasn't as intimately linked with themselves as it was for Nuvues. This meant that they could extract some amount of their magic into the object to create the tiny mystical trinket. When one bought any of these magical handicrafts, they were in a way, in possession of a part of these creatures' magic. 

My eyes were glued to a vast golden falcon with massive wings that was erected at the centre of what I expected was the city square. The falcon twinkled enigmatically under the golden and silver streetlights. The shops were mostly empty, with a few people hurrying about their work while others lounged around in groups.

I gazed in wonder at the astonishingly beautiful city and asked, "How are we getting there?"

"We will use one of the portals to Asteria," Aidan replied.

The car moved through the alluring avenues as I drank in as much of it as I could. I had spent the majority of my life in the mortal world but rarely had the chance to explore that either. I vaguely wondered if I could make a little detour along the city, but decided not to. We drove in silence for a long while. I cleared my throat as I spoke to him. "Thank you," I said as he glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. "For saving my life back there."

He nodded. "It was Meredith," his eyes seemed to light up momentarily by a soft radiance as he continued, "she helped me remember about the venom. Would have been supremely challenging without knowing it."

He fixed his gaze back on the road. I was surprised when he called my half-sister by her name. I sighed, "Yes. I'll...thank her when I get a chance."

I didn't really remember what had gone down after the Zverya had attacked me. But a part of me didn't want to know. If what he said was true; however, I was a little surprised that she had helped me even after everything that had happened. I rested my face against the cool glass and gazed at the rapidly changing scenery outside. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and observed. "You must be the youngest in the Guard."

"I suppose." He nodded. "There was this incidence, years ago when King Augustus had arrived at Zelen with Meredith and Evelyn. I was fourteen. Somehow Meredith got separated from the party and wandered into this bad neighbourhood." His eyes darkened slightly as he continued. "I used to sell my family's wares there. I escorted her back to him and I suppose he took a liking to me. Been in the Guard ever since."

He concluded his story, however, I was sure there was more to it. The only information I knew about Zelen was that it was a small town on the outskirts of the country, mentioned vaguely by my dad once as a place where drought had hit multiple times a year. Majhitzu, the Deus who wielded water had gone to Zelen to cull the issue. However, as far as I knew, water Nuvues needed a source of water to work. 

I lay my head against the glass and gazed upwards, wondering, who controlled the clouds, the rains, the night and day? I muttered softly, "Do you have weather Nuvues? Who controls the rain and stuff?"

"There have been rumours about Nuvues who can control the forces of nature and bend them to their will," he answered. "However, those are most possibly simply rumours. Water Nuvues can extract water from sources. Fairies are speculated to have some amount of control, however, they elude us too much for us to know for sure." 

Forces of nature? I knew as a child thunderstorms never seemed to hurt me, the droplets of water almost turning away unless I had desired to get drenched. I remembered the way trees and smaller animals sometimes reacted to me. As if they would indeed bend to my will. 

As if they all were afraid. 

I sighed and gazed silently at Aidan from the corner of my eyes. He looked around twenty or twenty-one years of age. Which meant that had Ezra been alive today, he would have been his age. I didn't know for sure, but something told me that the resemblance had something to do with the favour that my father had granted him.

The houses and buildings were becoming scarcer as we moved into the outskirts of the city. The car slowed down after a while and glancing ahead, I saw a familiar machine blocking the road. I had seen similar kinds of booths in the mortal world between different regions, a toll tax booth. Aidan rolled the window down and flashed his badge at the wary man behind the glass window. The man nodded and pulled a lever. The gates opened as we resumed our journey.

"This part of the country is pretty obscure," Aidan said. "Relatively difficult to reach via road unless you know where you're headed. But it's safe from prying eyes."

The forests on either side of us thickened, and soon I could see what appeared to be the outline of a building in the far perspective.

I sat up straighter, craning my neck to get a better look. In spite of everything, I felt excited as we slowly neared the massive building looming in the distance. I gasped as the vast building came into view, full of towers and turrets that touched the sky. The building looked ancient but well maintained and radiating magic.

"Whoa."

From what I could tell, the castle was bounded on four sides. The front of it complete with a tall tower with a gold pinnacle and black parapet walk. A simple golden star floated enigmatically on top of the pinnacle. The way it tilted gave it the look of a falling star. Moss green tendrils adorned the vibrant violet and magenta flowers intertwined around the walls. They seeped and hid in between the ancient bricks. The entire structure was white with black sloping roofs, vines scattered haphazardly and intricate golden carving in some foreign language I couldn't understand. I could see the lights but the academy was glowing with a soft, unearthly golden glow that somehow set my heart aflutter. 

I gasped. It felt surreal to finally see what I had envisioned for the last several years. I clenched my fists, revelling in the pain of my fingernails digging into my skin, reminding that this wasn't simply a cruel dream.

We finally pulled up in front of golden grilles decorated with tendrils. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was well past one. Aidan climbed out of the car and helped me carry the luggage to the gates, which automatically swung open. I stepped into the grounds, feeling overwhelmed as I gazed at the magical building in the distance.

"It's late, so I think you should proceed to your room and rest." He fished a brown envelope from his pocket. "You'll find everything here. The map. The schedule. Your room and classes are highlighted."

I took the envelope from him, feeling suddenly nervous.

"Good luck, Ezekiel. Also..." he took a deep breath as if steeling his nerves to say something he didn't want to. "Just...be careful, okay? Keep your eyes peeled. Find people to trust. You'll need it."

He gave me a little bow before promptly walking outside the door, leaving me stranded in what still felt like a dream.

I stared after him, his words ringing in my head as the sleek car disappeared from my sight. I wondered whether his words been generic advice, or had much more profound implications.

AN: So, Zeke is set to step into an entirely new world that is just his to carve! Well of course, while battling certain preconceived notions about him. My favourite character ever is about to be introduced soon XD If you like the chapters please do vote! It really helps :)