《The Titan's Deal》 Who am I? The boy startled awake. This isn¡¯t my bed. And indeed it wasn¡¯t. He appeared to be in a small alleyway. It wasn¡¯t bad as far as alleys go. There wasn¡¯t much trash, and it was fairly clean as well. What happened? I don¡¯t think that I live here. He felt that there was something he was forgetting. As he thought about it, he realized that he didn¡¯t remember much of anything. He remembered that his first name was Aeron, what certain things were, and not much else. Looking down at himself, he saw that he was wearing a nondescript white T-shirtand some baggy cargo shorts. Patting his pockets, he found a strange black pocket knife, a bronze pocket watch that looked like it might be an antique, a small strip of paper with an address written on it, what might be an apartment key with a number one written on it, and a leather wallet that had about fifty dollars in it along with a Florida state drivers license that listed his name as Aeron Paterson. Based on the image, he had black hair, bright, mercurial silver eyes, and a scar above his right eye, as if he had been hit with a blunt object a long time ago. All in all, he liked his appearance, with the exception being the fact that the picture made him look like he was all brawn and no brain. He got up and left the alley, taking a look at the street. It looked like it was the middle of August He appeared to be about a mile away from a mall of some kind. He decided to head for the mall and see if he could get help from the security desk. As he walked, he decided he ought to further examine the strange knife. The knife blade was about 3 ? inches long, black, and had some very small gold and bronze filigree inlaid along the sides of the blade, along with a sharp silver edge. It was slightly curved in the shape of a claw towards the main cutting edge. He also noticed that it was sharpened for about a half-inch down the back-side of the bladeas if to help with stabbing or gouging. The handle appeared to be a very pale steel on one side, and some sort of bluish metal on the other. The blade and handle were connected by a small, excellently-cut deep black gemstone that might have been some form of obsidian. It was equipped with a locking mechanism apparently made out of regular iron. This thing is probably worth a small fortune. Or even a large one. However, the strangest part of the whole knife was that, despite the warm summer day, the blade was Icy cold, and the handle was almost uncomfortably warm. He looked up, noticing for the first time that there were several people staring at him, some with curiosity, and others with unmistakable greed. He immediately hid it awayand instead started to examine the pocket watch. It seemed to be a standard old pocket watch, round, about two inches acrossand made of either copper or bronze, though he wasn¡¯t sure which. The only exception wasthe numbers, which were small black diamond patterns, and the back, which had a black fire opal cut in the shape of a scythe embedded in it. The golden hands were of the constantly sweeping type and were slightly tarnished as if they had been touched constantly by whoever had owned it previously. Looking up, he realized that he had just reached the mall. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The sign above the main entrance read Mall of Rome. Since the sign was in English, and everyone was speaking English, he surmised that they did not mean Rome, Italy. Spotting a store manager who was hurrying by, he headed over to talk to him. ¡°Sir, could you give me directions to the main security desk?¡± he called after the man. ¡°Turn right as soon as you exit the store, when you reach the central area, turn left, walk 50 feet and the desk will be on your right!¡± the man called back over his shoulder, without turning around. Shrugging, he left the store and went to the left, stopping as he reached the main area. In the center was a statue of a she-wolf feeding two baby boys. Looking up, his jaw dropped. The ceiling was designed as a pendentive dome, with amazingly detailed paintings of various Roman gods on it. Picking his jaw up off the floor, he managed to tear his eyes away from the ceiling long enough to get his bearings and continue his trek to the security desk. When he arrived, he was confronted by a security guard, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me. Someone stole your bag as well?¡± ¡°Actually, no.¡± ¡°What is it then?¡± the guard asked, looking like he was hoping for a break-in or something. ¡°I just need some help locating my appar¡ª¡± he paused, realizing that it might seem suspicious for a minor to own an apartment, ¡°¡ªmy aunt¡¯s apartment complex. I just arrived in town, and she isn¡¯t answering her phone.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± the guard sighed, ¡°What¡¯s the address of the apartment?¡± He passed the guard the piece of paper. ¡°Oh, your aunt lives at the new Villa Romana apartment complex?¡± He nodded, surprised that the guard knew the address by memory. ¡°Those are the best apartments in town, although I wouldn¡¯t mention the fact that you will be living there, that¡¯s liable to get you mugged, just because of the fact that you might be rich. I didn¡¯t even realize that anyone lived there yet. Are you going to be attending the school next door?¡± ¡°School?¡± ¡°What is it with teenagers these days, always answering a question with another question?¡± the guard muttered under his breath. ¡°Yes, a school. Bart¡¯s School for Teens with Unusual Abilities. A strange name, sure, but they only accept the best, and those that complete the curriculum are guaranteed to go far, although always in some strange field. I just figured that, with your eyes, you would.¡± ¡°What is it like? And what¡¯s wrong with my eyes?¡± ¡°It is apparently a very elite school, though I¡¯ve only ever seen three students, although I¡¯m pretty sure that there are others. As for your eyes, well, if you didn¡¯t realize, your eyes are silver. That isn¡¯t exactly normal.¡± ¡°Has the school year started yet? When did it first open?¡± ¡°Are you even capable of asking just one question at a time? Or do they always have to come in pairs?¡± ¡°I believe that you were just guilty of that very same fault.¡± ¡°Indeed I was,¡± he said, smiling. ¡°In answer to your questions, the year started three weeks ago, although some students apparently go year round. It opened about five years ago.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll remember that. Now, can you tell me how to get to the apartments?¡± ¡°Yeah, just give me a minute and I¡¯ll write it down.¡± After he got the paper from the guard, he left the building and headed for his new home. Villa Romana As Aeron reached Villa Romana he was again shocked at how authentically Roman everything looked. The complex consisted of three enormous buildings arranged like the side of a triangle. The buildings were all marble, with marble pillars, arches, and flagstones. They surrounded an amphitheater that was dug into the ground, complete with tiered seats and a firepit. There was also a large outdoor swimming pool, again made of marble. Unsurprisingly, there was a fence around the entire area. As Aeron reached the main gate, he saw that instead of a keypad, there was simply a large padlock. Shrugging, he pulled out what he had figured to be an apartment key. It was worth a shot. When he turned the key, the lock fell open in his hands. With a triumphant grin, he pulled open the gate. Suddenly, his spirits fell, as he realized that if it opened the main gate, it couldn''t an apartment key unless everyone had access to his apartment. That would be super annoying. He went in any way, figuring that there might be a caretaker or manager for the apartments who could look him up and give him a key. Not sure where to start, he elected to go and search the nearest apartment building. At the first door, he stopped, surprised. Directly to the left of the door handle, there was a very modern handprint scanner and LED screen. Centered above the door, there was a small brass nameplate. He decided to give it a go, figuring that it couldn¡¯t hurt. Aeron pressed his hand against the scanner, letting it do its work. When it finished, and he read the screen, he almost fainted from shock. Aeron Paterson It surprised him that it recognized him, but the real kicker was the next line: Apartment Complex Owner I own an entire apartment complex? How did that happen? He had been standing there for what felt like hours, though was likely only a few seconds, when the door unlocked with a sudden snick, startling him out of his reverie. He stepped through the door and, for the second time that day, his jaw dropped. Inside, the apartments were a lot homier and comfortable than they looked from the outside. There was a full kitchen on the left, a staircase to the right that led up to a terrace that went all the way around the interior of the apartment. Straight ahead, there was an entertainment center, completely stocked, with an Xbox One X, PlayStation, Wii U and Nintendo Switch. There was a sixty-inch plasma screen attached to the wall, along with a couple of VR sets. There were over a hundred games sitting in a rack beside the consoles The center of the room was taken up by a pool table, an air hockey table, a ping pong table and a foosball table. On the wall opposite the screen, there was a pair of dart boards.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. In a room adjourning the entertainment center, there was a small study, where a mahogany desk took up about half the space. Sitting on top of the desk was a very nice computer. Heading upstairs, he noticed that the walls upstairs were lined with empty bookcases and that there was enough shelf room to fit a small library. Going to have to fill those up, he thought as he headed towards the nearest door. The door led to the bedroom, which was just as magnificent as the rest of the apartment. There was a king sized bed, several paintings adorned the walls; all told they were probably worth a couple million, as long as he found the right person to sell them to. Leaving the bedroom for now, Aeron went over to the next door. It opened up to show the main bathroom. The bathroom had a Jacuzzi hot tub, two separate sinks, and a two-person shower. Exiting the bathroom, he went towards the third door, which was actually a pair of french doors that led out onto a balcony that encircled the entire building. As far as he could tell, the only way to access it without climbing was through the apartments. Leaving the balcony, he headed over to the fourth and final door on the top level. Opening the door, he found an office, in pristine condition, that had a rather large oaken desk in the middle of it. Behind the desk, there were three large metal filing cabinets pressed against the wall. There were also several papers scattered across the desk, the first sign he¡¯d seen of previous occupation. Seating himself behind the desk Aeron started to look through the papers. There were several papers concerning his apparent enrollment in Bart¡¯s School for Unusually Gifted Teens, the school that he had heard about from the security guard at the mall. There was also a brochure about the school and a one-time key card that got him onto the campus. Why one time only? In addition, there were a couple of papers detailing his rights as the complex owner. It said that as owner, all the room doors would open for him unless the current resident was in the room. The resident had to give him permission, or be injured so that they can¡¯t open the door on their own, (though it didn''t specify how it would be decided that they were sufficiently injured), in order for him to open the door. In addition, all the other things could operate at his command, including activating the fire pit, turning on the hall lights and sealing the gates during the flooding. What could that mean? It turned out that there was a concrete wall that could be lifted out of the ground during flooding season, to prevent damage to the property. Glancing at the clock, he was shocked by how late it was. He left the office and went straight to the bedroom. He was going to see if there was anything that he could change into, but he immediately just collapsed on the bed. He wasn¡¯t sure if his eyes closed before he fell asleep, but if they did, it was certainly a very close call. Bart鈥檚 School for Unusually Gifted Teens Aeron was woken at six o¡¯clock sharp by an alarm clock. What¡¯s that? I didn¡¯t set an alarm. Rolling over, he slapped at where the alarm should be until it shut off. Groaning, he got out of bed and headed over to the master bathroom. Once he had showered and changed, he went down to the kitchen and searched out some breakfast. After a nice breakfast of bacon and eggs, he went back upstairs and grabbed the campus admittance card from the office. By that time, it was already seven o¡¯clock. With a glance at the brochure, he remembered that the school day started at eight. I¡¯ll need to leave if I want to get through the enrollment process before school. He went to the bedroom to gather his things. He considered bringing the pocket knife, but dismissed the idea immediately, realizing that if it was like most schools, it would be confiscated and he would never see it again. He eventually settled on just bringing the pocket watch. Leaving the room, he glanced back to see that the nameplate above the door had somehow been changed overnight to read: Aeron Paterson, owner How did that happen without me noticing? Leaving the complex, he saw that the school was indeed right next to the complex. He was confronted by a security guard as soon as he reached the gate. ¡°Card, please.¡± Aeron handed the one time card over. The guard scrutinized it carefully, then started examining his face. ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask the guard. ¡°Memorizing your face so that I don¡¯t need to stop you again,¡± the guard replied. Ah, so that¡¯s why it is one-time use only, to make sure that you don¡¯t copy it and use it to get extra people on campus. The guard will simply recognize me and know to let me in. The guard grunted, ¡±Okay, you can go¡± When he went through the gate, he found the school to be arranged like a Roman training camp. Why am I not surprised? There were about a dozen tents and buildings set up around the grounds. He saw a large smithy, an archery range, two separate sleeping tents, a tomahawk throwing range, a small kitchen, sword fighting arena, a large dining hall, some kind of mine, and a small pond. However, one thing that really surprised him was the library full of ancient books and scrolls that was set up against the wall. There was also what might, judging by the smell, be a stable, though he saw no horses. Suddenly, he was stopped by a 17-year-old boy with straw blonde hair, stormy gray eyes, and deeply tanned skin. He was wearing what looked like battle armor. There was a lightning bolt symbol engraved in the center of the breastplate and on the top of his helmet. ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Jack Watt. Are you the new classmate that we were told about?¡± the boy asked as he extended his hand. Taking his hand, Aeron jumped as it shocked him. ¡°I¡¯m Aeron Paterson. You knew I was coming?¡± he asked, quickly releasing Jack¡¯s hand. ¡°Sorry about the shock, and yes, the instructors told us a week ago.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I was coming until this morning, how could the instructors have known? And what do you mean sorry? You couldn¡¯t have known that you would shock me.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Who knows how the instructors know, regardless, they do know,¡± Jack replied. ¡±And I apologized because I¡¯m descended from Zeus, and in my excitement to meet you, I forgot to restrain myself.¡± ¡°Oookay¡­¡± That explained the shock ¡°So, where do I register?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? I said that the instructors knew that you¡¯d be here for at least a week. You¡¯re already registered!¡± ¡°Then where do I start?¡± Aeron asked. ¡°You start with meeting everyone,¡± Jack said, grabbing his arm. ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you.¡± They went to the smithy first. The smith was a brawny 16-year-old boy who was at least 7 feet tall, extremely serious looking and almost completely covered in fire. ¡°Let me guess, descendant of Hephaestus?¡± ¡°Close, he is actually a demigod son of Hephaestus, and he is also descended from Athena and Hegemone.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Hegemone?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the Goddess of Mastery, flowers and other stuff. One of the Charities.¡± Jack told him. Suddenly, the fire disappeared, and he was able to fully make out the rest of the person. He was wearing a white sweatshirt and leather apron around his waist. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call to me? I would have come out to meet you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve only been here a minute!¡± Jack said, laughing. The smith turned toward Aeron and introduced himself, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Jake Smith, the toolsmith and the weaponsmith around here.¡± Extending his hand, Aeron introduced himself. Right after they shook hands, Jake¡¯s eyes widened. Releasing Aeron¡¯s hand, he made a gesture at his pocket, asking ¡°Can I see the item that you have in your pocket?¡± Realizing that he meant the pocket watch he had woken up with, he shrugged and handed it over, figuring that if anyone could figure it out, it would be a smith. Taking the watch from him, Jake started turning it over, tracing patterns his finger along invisible patterns in the metal. ¡°This is made of mountain-bronze and based on my estimates, it predates the Olympians by at least a thousand years. There is some kind of enchantment on it, though I can¡¯t identify what it¡¯s supposed to do," Jake told him. ¡°What I can do is tell you is that the energy for the enchantment is gathered by the diamonds and stored in the black fire-opal. The energy might originally come from the very passage of time itself.¡± ¡°What¡¯s mountain-bronze?¡± Aeron asked. ¡°I¡¯m not the greatest explainer in the world. Luckily, I see one of the greatest just came out of the library.¡± Jake told him. ¡°Miss Smart!¡± Jake yelled, causing Aeron to jump. Aeron turned around to see a young woman hurrying across the campus. ¡°What is it this time? Don¡¯t tell me that you incinerated your underpants again?¡± He heard the woman, presumably Miss Smart, ask. ¡°That was just that one time,¡± Jake protested, ¡°And, anyway, that¡¯s not why I called you,¡± he said, gesturing at Aeron. ¡°Oh, hi, I¡¯m Martha Smarts. I¡¯m assuming that you are Aeron Paterson.¡± She said, seemingly embarrassed that she hadn¡¯t noticed him before. ¡°You would be right. However, you weren¡¯t called over just to meet me. I would also like you to tell me about that pocket watch.¡± Aeron told her, nodding toward the pocket watch in question. Turning back towards Jake, she let out a small gasp, hurrying over to take the pocket watch from him. Quickly, she examined it, doing the exact same thing as Jake, but she was muttering either math problems or magic spells under her breath, and he couldn¡¯t tell which. Looking up, she told him, ¡°This is a very powerful relic. It is able to stop time for about ten seconds, your perspective, though it then takes probably half an hour to recharge.¡± ¡°So¡­ how do I use it to stop time?¡± Aeron asked her. ¡°Oh. you simply hold one of the hands in place, any hand will do, and it will stop time, and when you run out of time, it will force you to let it tick.¡± Ms. Smarts replied, "If you try to hold it any longer, it will probably cut your finger off!" ¡°I also have a pocket knife at my apartment, that looks like it might have been made by the same person, and is definitely enchanted in some way. Should I bring that to be appraised as well?¡± Aeron inquired. ¡°Please do, if it is, it will likely also be extremely powerful, and quite possibly be just as old. Plus, I suspect that Jake could learn something just by examining it.¡± She told him. ¡°Now, we need to get along with the introductions, so that I can get back to target practice,¡± Jack interjected, clearly tired of being ignored. The Tour Continuing with the tour, they went towards the stables. ¡°Aeron, I have to warn you about this next girl. She is as pretty as can be on the outside, but she is the most competitive person you¡¯ll ever meet.¡± Jack warned him. ¡°She¡¯s nice one minute and cruel the next. Stay away from her if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡± ¡°Ok, I get it. Look, don¡¯t touch. Actually, avoid looking if you can.¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Jack said, clapping him on the shoulder. Continuing their trek to the stables, Jack started describing the creatures that were kept in the stables. ¡°For the most part, all we have are griffins in there. Griffins are our main mode of transportation. As a matter of fact, we are taking the griffins out for a trip in just a couple of weeks on a trip to partially clear out a nest of giant spiders called Arachnates.¡± ¡°Wait, why partially?¡± ¡°So that¡ª¡± he stopped, they had just arrived at the stables. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± Heading into the stables, they were greeted by a skinny girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a sharp, angular face. ¡°Hello, Jack and¡­¡± She paused, searching, ¡°I don¡¯t know you.¡± Speaking up, Jack introduced them. ¡°Lacy, this is Aeron Paterson. Aeron, this is Lacy Crewel.¡± ¡°Hello, nice to meet you, Lacy,¡± he said, extending his hand. She sniffed disdainfully at the proffered hand, and turning her head up, said: ¡°I don¡¯t shake hands with dogs.¡± His eyes widening, he quickly retracted his hand. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be going now. I have to practice.¡± She said. ¡°You both should practice too because I don¡¯t to be on a losing team three years in a row, and especially not on our home turf.¡± After she pranced out of the stables Aeron turned towards Jack and started asking his questions ¡°What were you saying outside? Who are her godly relations? What is she even doing here if she is so competitive? And what was that about a losing team?¡± ¡°Whoa whoa whoa!! Slow down. Now, we partially clear them out so that we can do it regularly as a practical exercise. Her mother is Aphrodite and she is descended from Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge, and Nike, Goddess of Victory. She was here to care for her griffin because she¡¯s made even that into a challenge. As for the team, she was talking about The Tournament of the Gods. It is happening next year, between all the schools for demigods, and we have been chosen to host it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so special about the Tournament of the Gods?¡± ¡°Well, The winners get to participate in the Tournament of Pantheons. The people competing in the arena can¡¯t die either, to make sure that we don¡¯t drive ourselves extinct. There is also the fact that the champions from both tournaments have the right to ask the gods for one reasonable favor. Plus, you get bragging rights. The Egyptians have won the last four tournaments, and no-one wants them to win again this year.¡± ¡°Pantheons?¡± ¡°Yes, the world was divided among the different pantheons. North America went to the Greek Pantheon, South America to the Native Americans, Europe to the Irish, Australia to the Aborigines, Africa to the Egyptians, Antarctica to the Norse, and Asia has all of the others, due to them being mostly dormant.¡± ¡°Ok, next stop, Treasury.¡± It turned out that the treasury was hidden in the mine.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. At the treasury, they met the next teacher. It was a middle-aged man who was moving the gold around, completely without touching it. Hearing them enter, he turned around, revealing eyes that appeared to be made of solid gold. With a wide smile, he introduced himself. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m John Aurea, but you can call me John. Or really anything but Mr. Aurea¡± he said with no small amount of enthusiasm. Continuing in a conspiratorial whisper, he said, ¡°I¡¯m a demigod son of Chrysus, the spirit of gold.¡± ¡°Oookay. I¡¯m Aeron Paterson, and who knows who I¡¯m descended from.¡± Aeron responded. ¡°Is Tim here?¡± Jake asked. ¡°Oh, yes,¡± John said, waving to create a path through the gold. ¡°He¡¯s in the back.¡± ¡°Tim is the son of Harpocrates, the god of silence,¡± Jack told him. ¡°Nobody knows his last name, owing to the fact that he is almost always completely sil¡ª¡± Jack¡¯s voice cut off, though his mouth kept on moving. Actually, all sound had stopped Surprised, Aeron turned toward the end of the passage. Standing there was a young boy who was about seven years old, standing next to another boy who looked to be about 20 years old. The older boy walked over and lead them back down the passageway until they reached a point where sound returned. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Sam Young.¡± ¡°This is Aeron,¡± Jack interjected. ¡°Aeron, you are currently looking at the oldest human on the planet. Sam is approaching his 150th birthday.¡± ¡°And yet, I still have around a hundred years left in me,¡± Sam said. ¡°H-How?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a son of Hebe, God of Youth. It means that I have more life in me and that I will never appear to be older than 30.¡± Sam responded. ¡°The last person to meet is Draco. He¡¯ll probably be at the archery range with Orthrin, our dog.¡± As they approached the archery range, a small, black, two-headed dog came running up to them, holding an arrow in each mouth. Dropping to a knee, Jack opened his arms to catch the dog. ¡°Hi, Orithin!¡± ¡°Orithin is a¡­ miniature poodle?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jack said, standing up holding Orithin. ¡°And why is he carrying arrows?¡± ¡°Archery practice. We shoot the arrows and Orithin retrieves them, sometimes even catching them out of the air.¡± Jack replied, continuing to lead them towards the archery range. They arrived just in time to see three arrows hit three different targets in the bullseye, one after another. Looking for the archers, the only person that he saw was a buff looking guy who looked to be about 17 years old and was holding a darkly colored metal bow that seemed to almost attract shadows to it. Seeing them, the older boy walked over. ¡°Hey, here for some archery practice?¡± the boy asked. ¡°Aeron, Draco Archer. Draco, Aeron Paterson.¡± Jack quickly introduced them. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll try my hand at some archery,¡± he said, eyeing the bow curiously. Seeing his interest, Draco explained it ¡°My grandfather, Apollo, wanted to give me a glowing golden bow, but my great-grandfather on the other side of the family, Ares, protested and insisted that it would be too obvious at night, so he gave me a bow made of primordial iron and shadow steel, along with two-dozen dragon bone arrows with phoenix feather fletching and arrowheads made with the shavings of dark unicorn horns.¡± ¡°What¡¯s special about the arrows and bow?¡± Aeron asked as he went to retrieve a bow. ¡°The arrows are able to turn whatever they hit into a boiling liquid, and the bow imbues the arrows that it shoots with chaotic energies so that they rip reality apart where they land,¡± Draco replied. Choosing a bow that was listed to have a twenty-pound draw weight, he picked a random set of arrows as he puzzled over how safe those arrows could really be His concern must have shown on his face, because Draco laughed, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, reality repairs itself instantly!¡± Jack took this time to dismiss himself, saying that he needed to practice at the main arena. Bringing the bow and arrows that he had chosen to the shooting line, he tried to figure out how to shoot. Coming over, Draco stopped him, ¡°Whoa, slow down, you haven¡¯t even gotten a wrist and finger guard.¡± He said, bringing him over to two tubs near where he got his bow. Retrieving what looked like a pair of leather gauntlets from one of the bins, Draco had him try them on. ¡°The long leather piece along the wrist protects you from the string as it whips forward, and the fingertips are reinforced to allow you to pull the string back all the way,¡± he explained. Once they reached the shooting line, Draco demonstrated how to hold the bow and what stance to have. He also learned how far to pull the string, how soon to release, and how best to aim. He ended up spending the rest of the day there, and by the end of the day, he was able to hit the two-foot target 4 out of 5 times. After they packed up the archery equipment, Draco called after him, ¡°Hey, meet me at the arena tomorrow and we¡¯ll see how quickly you can pick up sword fighting!¡± When he got back to his apartment, he had barely enough time to realize that a book had appeared on his previously empty shelves before he crashed in the bed. Weapons and Armor The next morning, he woke again to the sound of an alarm. Getting out of bed, he noticed that it was earlier this time than when he had been woken before. He went to the shower and spent about fifteen minutes cleaning up before he got out and dried off. Returning to his room, he went over to the armoire and opened the door and was surprised to find a new section labeled ¡®Combat¡¯. There was no apparent difference between the two, but he decided to go with the new ones anyway. Heading down to the kitchen, he had a large breakfast before remembering the book that he had seen last night. He went upstairs to retrieve it. It turned out that the book was titled On Archery, which was, of course, all about archery, its history, various shooting postures, and many other things besides. Deciding that he ought to leave the book reading for later, he went and retrieved the strange pocket knife before heading to Bart¡¯s. Arriving at the school, Aeron went straight to the forge, hoping that he could get answers about the knife. As soon as he walked in, Jake dropped what he was working on. ¡°Whoa, Aeron, where did you get the armor?¡± ¡°Armor?¡± ¡°Yeah, the enchanted clothing that appears to be shape-changing.¡± ¡°Oh, I found this stuff in my armoire this morning and decided to try it on.¡± ¡°Try saying ¡®armor¡¯. That is the default activation code.¡± As soon as he said it, the clothes became white steel and black iron. ¡°Wow, dragon steel and primordial iron. Very strong combo.¡± Jake said. ¡°And what about the pocket knife that you were supposed to bring?¡± Bringing it out, he handed it to Jake, then changed his armor back into clothing. ¡°Well, the blade is made mostly of Shadow Steel, while the inlay along the back edge is made of Olympian Gold and Mountain-Bronze. The edge is lined with Enchanted Silver. Meanwhile, the handle is made out of Dragon Steel on the pale side, and Adamant on the bluish side. Joining the two halves is Orichalcum, that pinkish metal that you see. The blade lock is made of Primordial Iron. At a guess, I¡¯d say that it was forged in the fires of the River Styx, and cooled in the River Lethe. The obsidian is certainly enchanted, though I¡¯m not sure how, and I can detect several enchanted gemstones embedded within the blade.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ what do these all do again?¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Shadow Steel is only mined in the Underworld; Olympian gold must come from Olympus; Mountain Bronze comes from the Ourea; Enchanted Silver is made for killing were- creatures; Dragon Steel must be made by combining powdered dragon eggshell with iron, and must be heated in Dragonfire; Adamant is only found in the deepest mines, is nearly impossible to find, and even then only in trace amounts, in addition, it is nearly unbreakable; Orichalcum is very rare nowadays, seeing as it can only be mined on the island of Atlantis, which sunk beneath the waves thousands of years ago; Primordial Iron is only mined near the Pit of Chaos, which is inside the pit of Tartarus. The River Styx is the River of Oaths, and the River Lethe is the River of Forgetfulness. They represent 2 of the 5 rivers of the Underworld.¡± Jake explained. ¡°Wow, can you tell what the enchantment is for?¡± ¡°Well, one of the enchantments changes it from a pocket knife to some other blade, we¡¯d have to activate it to be sure what, and the other one I¡¯m not sure about. You¡¯ll have to ask Miss Smarts.¡± ¡°Ok, first, how do I activate it? And, second, where can I find her?¡± Aeron asked. ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask her about that, and you should find her in the library,¡± Jake told him, turning to pick up his project. Interpreting that as a dismissal, Aeron went to find the library. Entering the library, Aeron almost immediately saw Ms. Smarts sitting in one of the chairs. Looking up, she said, ¡°Hello, Aeron, what brings you here?¡± ¡°I need you to tell me about an enchantment,¡± he said, pulling out the knife. ¡°Oh, my,¡± she said, hurrying over. ¡°The first enchantment is one that changes the shape and is activated by you flipping it out as like a switchblade and saying ''activate,'' and reversed by the same thing, except you say ''deactivate''.¡± ¡°And the other enchantment?¡± ¡°The second enchantment comes in two parts. The first part is that any wound from this blade is nearly impossible to heal. The second part is that any wound made by this blade is able to be healed by direct contact with the hilt. The only other way that it could be healed is through divine intervention.¡± she told him. ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s overpowered. And did you say the second enchantment? Are there more?¡± Aeron asked. ¡°Yes, one more,¡± Ms. Smart said, ¡°This blade has been named ¦²¦Ê?¦Ó¦Ï? or Sk¨®tos. In English, that means darkness. The third enchantment allows you to call the blade to you by saying its name while your hand is outstretched.¡± ¡°Wow, I think I need to try that,¡± he said, already itching to do so. ¡°Well, you should probably try it at some point before we go for the trip to kill the Arachnates.¡± Ms. Smart told him. ¡°Oh, that reminds me, I¡¯m expected for training in the arena.¡± As he arrived at the arena, he figured that he ought to see what weapon it would turn into, and so he gently flicked his wrist to see what would happen. He watched in awe as the knife changed shape until it looked like something crossed between a battleax and a sword. As he walked into a room labeled armory, he noticed a very similar shadowsteel sword hanging on the wall, though it wasn¡¯t enchanted. How did I know that? he thought. Then, he thought, I¡¯d better use that blade instead of my own, I don¡¯t want anyone to be permanently hurt. As he got it down off the wall, he noticed a silver and gold trim running down the cutting edge of the blade, and what looked like writing engraved on the blunt edge. Probably supposed to be ceremonial and still remain functional, he thought. Retrieving the scabbard, which was just as ornate and ceremonial appearing as the sword was, he slung it over his shoulder and left the armory. The Arena Walking into the arena, Aeron was confronted by the sight of Draco in full battle armor. ¡°Hey,¡± Draco called to him, jogging over, ¡°Are you prepared to start training?¡± ¡°Yeah, where do I start?¡± Aeron asked. ¡°First of all, what weapon are you using?¡± Draco asked. Drawing the strange blade from its scabbard, he handed it to Draco. ¡°This is a rather nice khopesh,¡± he said, taking a few practice swings. ¡°Well balanced, too.¡± Draco gave him the sword back. ¡°Ok, the first thing for you to learn about this weapon is how to attack,¡± Draco said, leading him over to a straw training dummy. ¡°Ok, I want you to take a swing at this dummy. I¡¯ll judge your knowledge of sword fighting off of this.¡± Draco told him. ¡°Ok.¡± He took a clumsy swing at the dummy, unsurprised when he barely had any effect. Looking at Draco, his only response was a gesture that clearly meant ¡®Carry on¡¯. Considering how his swing had gone, this time he opted to try for a thrust. The resulting strike was so clumsy, even he had to admit that he was dreadful at swordplay. ¡°No, No, No!¡± Draco said, hurrying over to a weapons rack beside the wall. Returning with a steel khopesh, Draco began demonstrating each position. Starting with the hand that held the khopesh at his side, Draco started calling out each basic move as he demonstrated it. ¡°Thrust,¡± he said, keeping the sharp edge of the blade pointed down the entire time, and hitting the dummy dead center. ¡°Chop,¡± this consisted of a hit between the neck and the right shoulder, using the curved edge of the blade similar to how you would use a battle-ax. ¡°Pommel-Strike,¡± Draco stepped in really close and hit the area where the dummy¡¯s head would be with the pommel of the sword. ¡°Club,¡± For this one, Draco hit the dummy using the unsharpened section between the tip and the barb. ¡°Slap¡± he called out, hitting the dummy with the flat of the blade. ¡°Slice,¡± for this one, Draco took a step back, and cut across the dummy from right hip to left shoulder, never using more than the tip of the blade. ¡°Hook,¡± in this attack, Draco swung the back of the curve of the blade at the dummy, and used the barb near the tip of the blade to hook behind the dummy¡¯s left shoulder and pulled it towards himself before headbutting the dummy, ¡°You can use this for all sorts of things, like disarming an enemy, grappling with them, getting rid of any advantage they have because of a larger weapon, etc. The possibilities are endless!¡± Draco told him. ¡°And, finally, last certainly not least, the Dagger Stab,¡± for this maneuver, he didn¡¯t release the dummy from when he demonstrated the hook method, but, instead of headbutting it, he used a nine-inch long dagger that he had produced seemingly from nowhere, and used it to stab the dummy right in the center of the chest. As soon as the dummy was released, it completely fell apart.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Ok, first of all, am I going to need to get a dagger for this?¡± Aeron asked. ¡°Yes, there should be one that matches the khopesh somewhere around where it was hanging on the wall in the armory,¡± Draco responded. He went into the armory and headed over to where he had found the khopesh. On the ground nearby, there were actually several daggers. Sorting through them, he found two of different sizes that matched the khopesh. Attaching them both to his belt, he re-entered the arena. ¡°Ok, which one do you want me to use?¡± Aeron asked Draco, who was dragging a new dummy into the arena. ¡°The sparring knife.¡± ¡°And which one is that?¡± ¡°The longer one!¡± Draco replied as he finished moving the dummy. ¡°What¡¯s the other one for?¡± Aeron asked. ¡°Throwing, we can practice that another time,¡± Draco told him. Going up to the dummy, he started attacking it, trying to emulate Draco¡¯s movements. As he attacked, Draco gave him a constant, running commentary on what to do differently. ¡°Stab it, a poke won¡¯t do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a dagger, not a butter knife.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to lop it¡¯s head off, not give it a haircut.¡± ¡°A hook behind the hip won¡¯t work with a real opponent.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t even defend itself, why is it not yet in pieces?¡± Draco asked, dragging up another dummy. At this, Aeron paused, ¡±You want it in pieces?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no point in practicing with little cuts when they won¡¯t kill monsters. We might as well go all out on them.¡± Aeron returned his attention to the dummy, deciding that if he was told to go all out, then he would go all out. Getting out Sk¨®tos, he transformed it into a sword, putting the other one away. As soon as the sword was out, he felt a surge of disgust for the world, and a strong urge to kill someone. Struggling to gain control of himself, he dropped the sword. As soon as the sword left his hand, he was back in control of himself and jumped away. Looking around, Aeron saw that Draco had left the arena. Crouching down, he touched the sword and felt nothing from it. Picking it up, it seemed that the emotions had ceased. Well, that was strange. Trying to calm himself, he took a step back and considered his attack. He decided on a simple, quick chop at the shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he ran at the dummy, swinging with all his strength. The dummy was torn apart by the force of the blow, and Aeron stumbled forward, expecting more resistance. ¡°Whoa, Aeron, what did you do to that dummy?¡± Draco asked as he dragged up a third dummy. ¡°I just focused and hit it as hard as I could.¡± ¡°Can you try to do that again?¡± Draco asked, ¡°I want to see what you did.¡± Going to a position in front of the next dummy, he tried to emulate what he had done to the other dummy. He focused on it and swung as hard as he could. Once again, he tore straight through the dummy. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Draco said, ¡°How do you move that fast?¡± he inquired. ¡°I wasn¡¯t moving that fast, you know. I was just running at it and swinging.¡± ¡°Yes, you were moving that fast. I was watching the entire time. One second, you were standing still, five feet away from the dummy, and the next, you were finishing your swing!¡± Draco exclaimed. ¡°What are you talking about? I didn¡¯t move that quickly.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t move that quickly or hit hard enough that I tear through it in one blow,¡± Draco said. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know how I do it.¡± Aeron protested. ¡°When did you switch swords?¡± Draco asked suddenly. ¡°When you told me to go all out. This is the sword that I woke up with.¡± ¡°Woke up?¡± Draco queried. ¡°Two days ago, I woke up in a small alley nearby with no memory. The sword was one of the few things that I had on me.¡± Aeron explained. ¡°Man, that¡¯s tough. Where are you living?¡± ¡°The Villa Romana apartment complex.¡± Draco whistled, ¡°Ok, I take it back. That¡¯s not so tough. I would happily have my memory wiped if I could live there.¡± ¡°Do you want to go see it after school? I might be¡ª¡± He was interrupted in the middle of saying that he was the owner by a horn blowing. ¡°That¡¯s the lunch horn,¡± Draco said. ¡°And, yes I want to come to see it after school.¡± Bonded Blade Lunch was hamburgers and was cooked by wind nymphs, people made of air, who also cleaned everything. Over lunch, Draco explained that the reason that they hadn¡¯t had lunch the day before was that the kitchen was waiting for a new shipment of food since they had run out earlier than expected. After lunch, they returned to practice, this time with the normal sword. After two hours of practice, he hadn¡¯t managed to repeat his earlier feat of cutting through the dummy in one blow. ¡°I just don¡¯t get it,¡± Aeron said, ¡°There isn¡¯t anything about the other sword that would allow it to cut straight through the dummy.¡± ¡°Can I try it?¡± Draco asked. ¡°Sure,¡± Aeron responded, passing the sword to him. There was a sharp cracking sound, and Draco immediately dropped it, ¡°Ow! That must be a bonded weapon. They rarely allow anyone to hold them except their chosen owners.¡± ¡°So the blade is bonded to me? How?¡± ¡°The first time you used it, it probably could have chosen to bond to you at that point,¡± Draco explained, shaking his hand in the air to cool it. ¡°Do you need to see Miss Smart?¡± Aeron asked, picking up the sword. In addition to everything else, she also ran the infirmary. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go, I¡¯m not sure what kind of effects touching a bonded blade might have.¡± In the infirmary, Miss Smart was able to tell them that the blade would have no permanent ill effects besides the shock that it gave him when he grabbed it. She wrapped Draco¡¯s hands in cloth before releasing them to go back to the arena, with advice that Draco should avoid fighting for the rest of the day. ¡°So, are you still going to be able to come over to the apartments?¡± Aeron asked as they walked back to the arena. ¡°Are you kidding?! Of course, I¡¯m coming.¡± Draco exclaimed. ¡°As a matter of fact, we might as well go now. It''s already four o''clock.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s just a short walk to the entrance.¡± Leaving the school area, they made their way to the apartments. Aeron unlocked the gate, let Draco through, then replaced the lock. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize the place was this big,¡± Draco said, awestruck.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s huge,¡± Aeron replied, slightly amused as Draco turned every which way, trying to take in everything at once. ¡°Where¡¯s your room?¡± Draco asked. Aeron led him to the next building, over to the door with his nameplate above it. Suddenly, Draco stopped. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Aeron asked, turning towards him. Draco opened his mouth, looked like he was going to say something, then closed his mouth. Then he did it again. After the third time this happened, Aeron snapped his fingers in front of his nose, trying to get his attention. ¡°Draco, snap out of it,¡± he said, impatient. Finally focusing on him, Draco started talking, ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that you were the owner!!!¡± he said, his voice rising in volume with every word. ¡°Owner is just a title,¡± Aeron said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it to me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m too young to legally own anything more than my name,¡± he explained. ¡°Then who really owns it?¡± Draco asked. ¡°It¡¯s officially owned by a dozen different companies.¡± Aeron told him, ¡°I control a few aspects of it, but the majority of the management is done by the companies.¡± ¡°Do you think you have enough pull to get me a free apartment here?¡± Draco asked as Aeron put his hand on the scanner. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Aeron told him as the door opened, ¡°But I can certainly try.¡± ¡°You sure it wouldn¡¯t inconvenience you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call later tonight. I¡¯m sure that they won¡¯t mind since there isn¡¯t anyone living there anyway.¡± Aeron assured him as they entered the apartment. Aeron immediately started giving him a tour of the apartment. ¡°First is the kitchen,¡± he said, gesturing towards the counters. ¡°There isn¡¯t much to it.¡± ¡°Do you have any snacks here?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Aeron said, heading over to the pantry to retrieve a bag of Doritos. ¡°Thanks, man,¡± Draco said, taking the bag from him, ¡°I was starving.¡± Then, he showed Draco upstairs, figuring that he should save the game room for last. ¡°Is this where you got your armor that you were wearing today?¡± Draco asked, heading for the armoire up against the wall. ¡°Yeah, are you able to see anything special about it?¡± ¡°Are you kidding? You¡¯d have to be blind and deaf to be unable to detect the magical energy running through it.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Aeron asked, approaching the wardrobe. ¡°You can¡¯t see it?¡± Draco said, turning to him. ¡°See what?¡± ¡°The aura around it,¡± Draco replied impatiently. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything around it except air!¡± Aeron said, waving his hand over it. ¡°You must have no super sensory perception whatsoever.¡± ¡°Super sentry what?¡± ¡°Supersensory perception. It is primarily the ability to detect magical auras around people and objects.¡± ¡°So what are you seeing around the armoire?¡± ¡°It has a very bright, deep purple aura, and there is the sound of fire around it.¡± ¡°Was there anything else that appeared to have an aura?¡± ¡°One of the bookshelves had a faint glow in it, but that was all I saw.¡± Leading him back to the terrace, he asked Draco to point them out. ¡°Right over here,¡± Draco said, leading him to the bookshelf where the archery book was, along with a new book titled The Art of Swordplay. Chapter 8 - New Arrivals The book, it turned out was just about everything you could possibly ever want to know about swordplay. He gave it to Draco, as he seemed to really want it. They then spent another two hours trying out everything in the game room. After that time, Draco decided to head home, saying that he had to meet his mother for dinner. After making the promised phone call, and extracting a promise to look into leasing out an apartment, he got ready for bed like he usually did before passing out. * * * * * A week after he had first woken up, he got a surprise when he arrived at the apartment complex, because the gates, which he was always careful to close on his way out each day, were hanging slightly open. Heading inside, he was surprised to find two people, a well-built white guy, and an African American girl, knocking on his door. He called out to them, saying, ¡°Hey, what are you two pounding on my door for?¡± They both turned around, and, despite their obvious differences, it was also extremely obvious that they were twins. The girl had long silver hair and grey eyes, while the boy had shaggy blonde hair and golden brown eyes. In spite of this, they had very similar faces, just different color schemes. ¡°You Aeron?¡± the guy asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, ¡°What can I do for you?¡± ¡°We were under the impression that you would be able to provide us with rooms here.¡± ¡°Where did you get that idea?¡± ¡°When we woke up a couple of hours ago, we found these notes in our pockets that had this address on them. We walked into the post office that was nearby, and the postman said that this was the place to go and that it was run by Aeron Paterson,¡± the guy responded. ¡°Then who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Henry Celesta.¡± ¡°And I''m Selena Celesta,¡± the girl spoke in a soft tone of voice and was looking as if she had found something incredibly interesting on the ground. ¡°Are you two twins?¡± Aeron had to ask. ¡°We believe so,¡± Henry said, ¡°Not much that we remember before today.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember much before last week myself. Did you wake up with just the clothes on your back?¡± ¡°We also have these torcs,¡± Selena answered, brushing her hair back to show a platinum and silver dragon-shaped torc with small emerald eyes and mother-of-pearl inlays. Aeron now noticed that Henry had a similar one, though his looked to be gold and bronze with ruby eyes and sunstone accents.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Well, I think I can offer you both a room, although I don¡¯t have anything prepared, they might be premade.¡± ¡°So which ones are ours?¡± Henry asked, ¡°And how will we pay you?¡± ¡°You can take any of them except mine,¡± he said, ¡°And I¡¯m not sure if you''re supposed to pay for these. I think that the rooms change depending on their inhabitants, so I can¡¯t really charge you, because they are all very basic without inhabitants, and the Inhabitant is the entire reason why the rooms exist.¡± He had explored all the rooms several days before and found that despite the abundant space that should have been there, they were all basic 15 foot by 15-foot square rooms, which still left about 90% of the building outside the rooms unused. He smiled at their shocked faces, before shooing them to get them to make their decision. They chose rooms on opposite sides of his room, and, sure enough, when they put their hands on the scanner, those rooms were changed, and he was just barely able to detect a pulse of the magic that clearly was being used in the rooms, a sign both of his practice over the last week, and of how powerful the magic being used was. When they opened the doors, he was able to catch a glimpse of the inside of their rooms, which seemed to match the occupants remarkably well. Selena¡¯s room seemed to be dark-colored, with silver constellations on the walls of the entryway, while Henry¡¯s was yellow, red, gold, orange, and light blue. He decided to get cleaned up before visiting. * * * * * Leaving his room, now feeling refreshed after a quick, 15-minute shower, he decided to that he should check on Henry first and see what his room was like. Turning left out of his door, he went around thirty yards and knocked on the door next to him. ¡°Who is it?¡± he heard Henry shout from inside. ¡°It¡¯s Aeron,¡± he shouted back. There was silence for a second, followed by footsteps moving towards the door. The door swung open and Henry greeted him, saying, ¡°Hey, come on in.¡± Entering the room, he saw that the walls were covered in images of the sun, with clouds on the ceiling. The apartment was set up much the same as his own but the game room and the office were switched around. They went into the office and found a folder sitting on the desk, containing prefilled enrollment papers for Bart¡¯s School for Unusually Gifted Teens, which said that tomorrow would be his first day. ¡°I¡¯ll show you to the school in the morning,¡± Aeron said, ¡°We should check to see if Selena has one, too. She should, but anything is possible.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± Henry said, heading towards the door. Aeron followed him and they turned right from the door and went to Selena''s room. Henry knocked on the door, yelling, ¡°Hey! Selena! Open the door!¡± ¡°What?¡± Selena asked in a sharp tone, opening the door. Aeron stepped forward diplomatically, saying, ¡°I just wanted to know if you were also enrolled in Bart¡¯s School for Unusually Gifted Teens.¡± ¡°Yes, I am,¡± she said. ¡°Then I will show you both to the school at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Be sure to bring your enrollment papers with you.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be ready.¡± Before he could ask if they could see inside the room, she shut the door on them, clearly showing that exploring would have to wait. After that, he quickly showed Henry his room before retiring to bed, hoping for an early start the next morning.