Page 3 of The Scars Within (Twisted Thorn #1)
Once dismissed, cadets filtered out of the Great Hall. Not eager to draw attention on initiation day, I slipped toward the back of our quad. I feel much more comfortable when I’m overlooked in a crowd.
But from the back, I couldn’t see who had been assigned as our team leaders. The crowd swallowed their names and faces before I had the chance to care. So when Delaney stepped forward with quiet confidence, I followed without question.
She looked like someone who knew where she was going. That was enough for me.
As we ventured through the labyrinthine corridors of the college, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of reverence for the history surrounding us. Each part of this castle tells a story, and its walls bear the scars of every elemental that has enrolled in our military legion.
I could hear one male voice speak up ahead of us, giving us a brief overview of Mageia’s history. However, he focused more on previous battles and war leaders instead of divulging the history of the Mareki Gem.
Mageia War College was established five centuries ago by the Aryan elementals that defeated the Tyrians in the Battle for Mareki.
On the continent of Kalymdor, where magic courses through the very fabric of existence, a conflict of monumental proportions erupted between the north and south.
Deep within the catacombs of Mageia lies the Eternal Tomb.
All four magical essences that power our world are kept and protected in this tomb.
Each element of magic is powered by its essence: the essence of air, the essence of earth, the essence of fire, and the essence of water.
The Mareki Gem interconnects all four essences.
It is a vessel of concentrated arcane energy forged through a fusion of mystical elements and imbued with each elemental essence.
Nobody in history knows how the Gem was created, but the first two rival legions of elementals and mages endured the terror of what would come with the Gem being disturbed.
These legions were the Tyrians of the north and the Aryans of the south.
Each vying for where the Gem should reside.
Tyrians believed that moving the Mareki Gem closer to the north would help bring their lands back to life.
The grip of a Tyrian winter is one that not many can bear.
The north is shrouded in snow and ice most of the year.
Only a few months of each annual rise will bring enough sunlight and rain to provide the least bit of vegetation for their farms.
Arya refused to be complicit in the movement of the Mareki Gem for fear of causing an imbalance of the magical essences within.
The elementals and mages did not believe that the location of the Gem affected its power.
The Mareki Gem was there before the continent was founded, so it should be preserved in its natural home.
This disagreement led to a deadly battle close to the continent’s center.
Arya fought off most of the Tyrians above ground, but one mage slipped down below to the catacombs of the Gem.
Armond Zervos was able to sneak past the warfare and into the Eternal Tomb.
He planned to carry the Mareki Gem and let the elemental essences follow, but as soon as he lifted the Gem from its pedestal, the world went to shit.
My thoughts of the Battle for Mareki were interrupted when I ran face-first into something that felt like a brick wall and smelled like cashmere sandalwood and vanilla.
Heat instantly rushed through my cheeks as I looked up and saw the storm that I had absentmindedly walked into.
His eyes were the most contrasted shade of gray I have ever seen.
They were dark to almost blackened on the outer rims, fading to bright gray towards the center.
Wait, no, they are light blue? My eyes went back and forth swiftly as I tried to determine what color this man’s eyes were. A quarter of his right eye is light blue, contrasting against the cool gray.
“Did you hear what I said, cadet?” he asked with a deep, almost bored, voice.
He blinked slowly, and I realized I was just s taring .
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
The man stood there, his dark hair falling slightly over his forehead, accentuating the sharp angles of his face.
His gaze was unwavering, as if he was trying to decipher how I could possibly be so clueless.
As if I should already know who he is. I’ve never met this man before, let alone ever met someone with two different colored eyes.
He has a deep red, almost black, dragon mark going up his right forearm like a tattooed sleeve.
It starts on his knuckles, covering the top of his hand, but his leather jacket stops my view.
There’s no telling how far this mark goes.
Dragons mark their chosen riders with some form of reddened mark.
Whether it’s similar to a tattoo, a scar, or sometimes a red streak of hair.
Fire wielders are the only elementals capable of bonding with a dragon. It’s said that fire runs deep in their blood, marking them as touched by dragon fire and allowing them to bind their magic to the dragon that chooses them.
Binding their magic is an unbreakable vow.
“Shayde, keep an eye on this one,” he grunted to someone coming from behind him without breaking my gaze.
“Do we already have a troublemaker in our midst?” the voice of the guy giving us a history lesson, I’m assuming Shayde, stepped through the crowd. His features were similar, but his expression was the complete opposite. “There’s no way this one could be causing you harm on day one, brother.”
Brother. That makes sense.
Standing next to each other, I could tell they were kin.
They are so similar but so different at the same time.
They’re almost identical with their dark hair, although they wear it differently.
Shayde’s hair has a slightly lighter hue, giving him a brown tint.
He has it shaved close to his scalp on the sides and a little longer on the top.
The front barely touches his forehead, thanks to a cow lick.
When he tilts his chin, I can see his dragon mark on the left side of his head like a stripe.
He probably keeps his hair shaved to show off the mark.
His brother seems to have more important things to do than worry about how he styled his hair. He wears his onyx-colored hair slightly longer, the tousled strands framing his face with a casual, rakish charm.
“I’m sorry. I, uh... I was just taking in the history along the walk to our chambers,” I blurted out, trying to appear calm and undisturbed by their presence.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. We know how overwhelming initiation day can be. I’m Shayde. Shayde Wylder,” He nodded with a perpetual smirk, a mischievous grin that hinted at a playful, perhaps rebellious nature.
“Noted,” I nodded in response. “I’m Scarlet Thorne. Scar for short.” I awkwardly reached my hand out to shake, but quickly pulled it back, swiping it behind my back when a passing cadet called his name, stealing his attention for a moment.
Why am I so awkward?
I clenched my teeth, willing myself to regain composure and shaking it off. But my skin prickled from the feeling of someone watching me, and my breath caught as I realized Shayde’s brother was still staring .
My heartbeat thudded in my chest as I waited for him to speak, but instead, he just crossed his arms and turned on his heel, shaking his head at Shayde before walking away.
Okay, asshole.
“And that’s Rhodes,” Shayde said without dropping his boyish grin.
“Shayde, someone up ahead is asking for you,” Delaney spoke up between us.
Shayde nodded and walked away.
“Are they our...” I asked her.
“Team leaders? Yep. Shayde is easier to talk to. Rhodes is... different. Just try to consult Shayde if you need anything.”
Noted.
The group continued walking as I started doing the math in my head. Being brothers in the same year, they are either incredibly close in age or…
Twins.
Twins in Kalymdor are an extremely powerful force, especially in the war legion.
Two elementals of the same genealogy can wield their magic together as one when on the same playing field.
But twin elementals also possess a unique and profound connection beyond mere sibling bonds—as if they share a single soul.
This connection is referred to as the marekem .
It allows them to see, feel, and experience everything the other does when the connection is utilized, creating an unparalleled unity in mind and magic.
Alone, each elemental is a powerful force. But twin elementals… their magic would be amplified into an unstoppable entity, hence why twins are highly coveted at Mageia.
Shayde and Rhodes showed each quad to their bedchambers.
We all share the same hallway in the western wing.
Being last in the alphabetical line-up, our chambers are the furthest from the central part of the college.
The good news is that we will be getting our exercise.
Bad news, heavy books were going to be a pain in the ass to carry .
First-year cadets share a single room with two sets of bunk beds. Then, for the second year, they are upgraded to a shared space with just one roommate. By the third year, cadets are finally granted their own rooms.