《Avatars》


 Prologue: What can be an avatar

    The dismal clouds hung overhead, concocting a spell of misery upon the floors below and to smite those who were to rebel against them. It was a show of pride when they conducted the waves, each droplet was just a pawn in their plan to wreak havoc upon the world. Despite the threatening appearance that was before many eyes, still one miniscule boat was arrogantly sailing away as if it was nothing, although the actual picture was something much different.


    "Damn it! At this rate I won''t even make it to the western continent unharmed. Not to mention..." an effeminate voice broke out, the rumbling of distant thunder was still not enough to silence her. All that was clear from a distance was a cloaked figure, no lock of hair or even a glint in her eyes. She glared back at the cabin of the boat, somehow she was able to keep herself upright without any slips, the wood itself was even struggling to withstand the force of the ocean. "No! I''ve got to focus, I just need to find some place safe."


    It was a stroke of luck, in the distance was a mid-sized island and a small town inhabiting it as well. With such a chance, she would be able to wait out the storm and eventually make her way to the so-called western continent. Although the waves proved some trouble, she overcame them and managed to reach the port of the island.


    Upon reaching it, her first action was to retrieve whatever she had cooped up inside the cabin, her steps were filled with urgency. After a few minutes had passed, she re-emerged, holding not any treasure or object but a small infant. The cries of the infant were loud enough to attract the attention of masses but were still not enough to overtake the crashing thunder.


    "Enlil, it''s alright now. We''re safe." The woman still hadn''t removed her cloak, the child still recognised her however, due to her voice. Their crying softened, eventually halting when the woman caressed their cheek with her right ring finger. "Such an obedient child, I''m going to miss you."


    It was a miraculous scene, despite the heavy thunder and the miserable clouds, the child still smiled at her. She lifted up her head, shielding the child from the sky and taking a rushed gait. The streets were void of life, it proved useful for the woman who was bordering on running, she did eventually stop, only to eye a building which lights were acting as the sun. She did not hesitate to confront the door to the building, upon reaching it she knocked thrice. A girl, who had clearly just entered her teens stood there, her figure was under-developed and her face somewhat childish. Her hair was cut short, a fawn-brown colour, and her clothing was nothing more than a commoner''s white dress. She eyed the cloaked woman, it was unclear if she was staring into her blue eyes or just facing her.


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    "This is a religious manor, is it not?" The cloak woman inquired, the girl only nodded, upon receiving an answer the hooded woman had went onto her knees. "I beseech you, please, take in this child and make sure that he is safe. I cannot do anything, it is too dangerous for him; the sea, the skies and the land. So, I beg of you."


    "I''m not sure..." the girl certainly was full of doubts, a suspicious cloaked woman had just came up to her and asked her to keep a child safe. "I would ask the father first, he returns tomorrow. You can stay the night if you wish."


    "I cannot do such a thing, I must leave urgently." The woman had a sudden tremble in her voice, extending her arms, waiting for her child to be taken. "Please, can you protect Enlil for me?"


    The girl, even with her doubts, took the child, cradling and nodding at the cloaked woman. She stood there in silence, observing  as she ran off into the face of the storm.


    Perhaps they would meet again?


    Was her thoughts. When her figure was no longer visible, the girl turned around and slammed the door shut, smiling as she held the child.


    "Enlil, huh? It''s a unique name, haven''t heard it before." The girl mumbled towards him, "I''ll be your sister from now on. How does that sound?"


    The child immediately cried out! The girl felt quite insulted by the response given, but still attempted to gently calm him down. She tried many tactics: singing, rocking and even feeding him.


    "Oh, how about a story?" The girl excitedly spoke, returning to the door where they had met. "It''s about the great ''Avatars''."

 Vol.1 Chapter 1: The Departure of an Avatar

    Dawn had begun, although only a glimpse of it was visible to the eye. A child was walking down a cobbled path, his shoes rubbed against the stone and pushed him forward while he looked ahead at the rising sun. His figure was immature, his hands were not too big and were grasping onto a handle, while his legs were forcefully being picked up again and again. There was a glint of excitement in his hazel eyes and a wide grin on his face, he finally came to a halt when he reached the pier which was quite large for its length, and released the grasp he hand on the handle. A suitcase fell to the ground and the boy lifted his arms up into the sky, brushing them against his messy hazel hair, a yawn escaped from his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s really troublesome to wake up this early to leave.¡± The boy spoke, he put his left hand over his eyebrows and squinted to see if there was anything within the distance. ¡°I think I see it!¡±


    He picked up his suitcase, gripping it tightly and rushing forward to the end of pier, he waved his right hand repetitively in hopes that the small boat within the distance would notice him. Even if it did, it was heading for the pier he was stood at nevertheless.


    A few minutes did pass, but the excitement of the situation made it fly for the child who waited for the ship to dock itself at the pier. At that point, a man within his thirties was stood there, his skin was tanned and his facial hair had outgrown his actual hair. He wore a cap, which hid his eyes from the view of the boy and wore a worn out overcoat. He gestured at the boy to make his way with his right hand, of which the boy followed immediately.


    There was not much of a wait before they departed again.


    ¡°Young¡¯uns seem to have gotten more materialistic, all the flashiness in your dress and the attitudes.¡± The old man took the initiative to start a conversation with the boy, who looked down at his clothes which he found to be quite casual. It was a hoodie, one with short-sleeves as well which were orange and the rest of the hoodie was entirely white, meanwhile he wore orange cargo shorts which were just to have some pockets. ¡°What¡¯s yer name?¡±


    ¡°I never thought of myself as materialistic, but I suppose you¡¯re right, mister.¡± The boy nervously chuckled, he still held his grasp on his suitcase and looked towards the ocean, seeing that the sun had risen more than before. ¡°I¡¯m Enlil. What about you, mister? What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Pahahaha! Interesting, someone who isn¡¯t so prideful for once.¡± The old man had dodged the question, focusing on controlling the ship. ¡°So, what brings ya¡¯ to such a place?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been a dream of mine since I was a child to be an Avatar. So, I thought that there was no better place to go than the Avatar Academy!¡± Enlil¡¯s words were filled with passion, even the old man had frozen for a second from such enthusiasm. ¡°I want to help everyone I meet!¡±


    The old man grumbled at his words, whether it was his childish thoughts that annoyed him or the enthusiasm was just too common for him, either way he was displeased by it.


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    ¡°Let go of the stories, kid. This isn¡¯t the Avatar Academy, it¡¯s the Militant Academy.¡± The old man began to lecture him, Enlil turned his gaze towards him to listen. ¡°If you want to be an Avatar, you have to push down all those in your way, there is no other way to make it to the top.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to make it to the top.¡± Enlil scoffed, the old man was shocked by his announcement and even turned around to see his expression of hilarity. ¡°I want to be an avatar so that I can help the entire world. If I have to push down people for that, then I¡¯ll do it, although I¡¯m not a fan of it.¡±


    The old man laughed greater than he had before, turning back to face the direction in which they were heading. Enlil jumped in reaction from the sudden sound he made.


    ¡°Ah, you are a funny kid. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard such a thing before.¡± The old man managed to calm down, sighing before he spoke again. ¡°Seriously, you need to grow up, otherwise being an avatar is just stupid for you.¡±


    Enlil only lightly chuckled, glaring at the old man who looked behind again to inform Enlil of the time it would take for them to reach the academy that Enlil dreamed about for so long.


    ¡°We¡¯re about a day away, so-¡± upon noticing Enlil¡¯s eyes, the old man broke out into a cold sweat, he stuttered on his words. His eyes were lifelessly staring at him, it was like he was marked for death. ¡°Get comfy¡­¡±


    There was an empty silence, where Enlil proceeded into the cabin of the ship, leaving only the old man out on the deck. Such loneliness was comforting to a man who had spent a majority of his life at sea. He had met many people, experienced many things, yet despite such experience the eyes of a child struck fear into him.


    He was planning on going slow, to get some rest and continue the next day and arrive as good as gold, but his fear had gotten the better of him. Even if Enlil was powerless, he looked as if he was going to kill him that instant and the old man only wanted to get as far away from the child as possible.


    ¡°He¡¯ll make a good avatar.¡± He finally spoke, he was then stood in silence where dawn had finally passed.


    (Author Notes:


    Well, I¡¯d really appreciate it if there would be some criticism, because I still think it sucks¡­


    Anyways, I suppose what I am worrying about in this entire story is the action scenes. I am very confident that I suck at them absolutely, so that will be fun. I¡¯ll try practicing them before I post them.


    Also, if you''re not reading this on my website, I always update that first since the lag is essentially zero there, so if that''s of any interest to you...


    :P)

 Vol.1: Chapter 2: The Avatar Academy

    What stood, isolated, on an island was an institution, a place for those who sought a future of adventure and exploration. A building which represented a church was placed directly in the south, a giant clock tower was staring down at the ground. There were many rooms from the perspective of the port, all were prim and proper with dust being a rare sight. The walls themselves used steel supports for the outline and bricks stacked upon one another, the paint was a pale red which had faded from the passing of time. There were mountains which appeared to have been climbed by many former-inhabitants and a forest with luscious leaves and a width which covered up a majority of the island. Nearby the main building were dormitories, two for both genders. They were identical in appearance, both were painted white and were four stories tall, a pristine stone path led one from the port to either of the three buildings, only an idiot would mix them up.


    And an idiot did.


    ¡°That guy must really like sailing, we arrived here in only a few hours!¡± Enlil concluded, he stood at the port where it was too early for any ships to come by, only his and a few others had arrived. He stepped out onto the stone path, where bushes and flowers were kept in prime condition and tended to daily from their appearance. Enlil looked around at the buildings, people had only just begun waking up. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ from the letter the old man gave me, I¡¯m in room 274.¡±


    Enlil was keen on getting to his room, he had been carrying his suitcase for the past few hours and needed to get settled in! Upon meeting a thoroughfare, he made his way to the right, a few students began staring at him, as a result Enlil began thinking that there was something odd about himself.


    Inside of the building, the hallways were decorated with furry walls which were white and floors were hardwood pine, there were doors which were decorated with stickers, felt and other handicraft materials. Enlil didn¡¯t struggle to make his way around the hallways, it wasn¡¯t long before he was standing in front of the pale white door which spoke ¡®274¡¯. He grasped for the handle, pushing the door forward in hopes of discovering a room fit for a king!


    He wasn¡¯t wrong, the only issue was that it was made for a queen.


    Enlil¡¯s eyes met a girl who was sitting peacefully on a bed, within her hands was a book, the title wasn¡¯t clear to Enlil due to the angle she was holding it at. Her ginger hair had some length in it, reaching down to her scapulas. Her torso was hidden behind a crimson tank-top, while her legs were clothed in a pale black pair of jeans.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The girl questioned, there was no impulsiveness in her voice, not much people would be this calm if someone just barged into their room.


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    ¡°Enlil.¡± Enlil only replied with his name, although he wanted to speak his mind couldn¡¯t form any words to use. The girl squinted her azure eyes at him, after a few seconds had gone by she had relaxed entirely.


    ¡°Kiera.¡± She retorted, closing her book and raising her left index finger towards Enlil. ¡°This isn¡¯t the boy¡¯s dormitory.¡±


    Kiera¡¯s face grew a smirk, she understood the situation at an abnormal rate and reacted maturely. If she was one of the best students there were then Enlil wouldn¡¯t be surprised!


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Enlil didn¡¯t show any embarrassment, although if he had any was questionable. ¡°Nice meeting you!¡±


    Enlil dashed through the building, he had understood that he had just walked into the girl¡¯s dormitory and charged into one of their rooms. If it wasn¡¯t a rumour already, then it was bound to be one eventually! He had already gotten glares from deciding to enter it!


    The journey towards the male dormitory didn¡¯t take too long, the interior design was no different either and the males didn¡¯t vandalise it In any way. On the arrival at his actual room, Enlil took the time to take in his surroundings, the bed was quite bland it was simple duvets and pillows which were white; staining them would be an issue. His walls were a similar pale red to the academy walls, it appeared that no one really decorated the rooms particularly. A desk was present as well, three drawers on the right and four on the left, an odd design choice. There wasn¡¯t much else in the room; a wardrobe to store clothing and a few drawers to put anything else in.


    ¡°Looks cosy.¡± Enlil lifted his hands from his suitcase, placing it aside his bed and sitting down on top of his bed. He stretched his arms, resting his head down on the pillow. After a few minutes had gone by, Enlil¡¯s eyes began closing and shutting off any light. It was then, he had accidentally fell asleep.


    (Author Notes:


    Ah, sorry, this chapter isn¡¯t very good! My mind is kind of muddled at the moment and I can¡¯t seem to get my thoughts straight. This is the best I could produce, so I apologise!


    From here on out, I shall try my best to improve my chapters!


    It sucks that I messed up on one of the main characters...)

 Vol.1: Chapter 3: The Knowledge of an Avatar

    Awoken by a painful banging, Enlil rubbed his eyes and looked towards the door which was being violently jerked, it continued for a few seconds until a voice called out to him.


    ¡°HEY! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!¡± The roar spooked Enlil, he wasn¡¯t bold enough to approach the door, so he responded in the only way he could have!


    ¡°W-Who is it?¡± Enlil squeaked out, although the volume of his voice was not heard as the sound of the door being kicked inwards muffled it entirely. A boy had strolled in, his hands were buried deep within his pockets and an exasperated look covered his face. His hair was bleached white and his skin had followed along with the style, it was incredibly pale. The lower half of his body was covered up in a pair of grey trousers while from the waist up he wore a blue shirt which had the text ¡®Iced¡¯ imprinted onto it.


    ¡°You¡¯re the lazy shit-head?¡± Enlil was reared up to complain about his door, but let it go when the boy¡¯s lazy eyes met him. ¡°Come on, get the hell up, the teacher keeps yellin¡¯ about how he wants all the students there and you¡¯re the only asshole who isn''t there.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Enlil trembled as he had stood up, the boy led the way out of his room, whilst they walked down the hallways, Enlil figured that then was the best time to strike up conversation. ¡°So, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡± The boy harshly responded, Enlil decided to resort to more distasteful tactics.


    ¡°Oh, you know: meet strangers, make friends, know the asshole who kicked down my entire door.¡± Enlil jokingly spoke, however he wasn¡¯t exactly fond of his own words even if they were in satire.


    ¡°Do you expect me to compensate you? Not going to happen.¡± The boy whistled away, they had made their way outside of the dormitory, the academy¡¯s exterior was entirely empty! Enlil was not accustomed to schools in any way but knew that there would at least be some delinquents.


    ¡°Yes and I¡¯m giving you a bargain here. Tell me your name before I complain to some old person who has spent too much time dealing with crap like this.¡± Enlil declared, at this point he wasn¡¯t even trying to make friends with this boy, he was just too much of an dick to like. At least with his name he would be able to know where he would be and avoid him.


    ¡°Call me Arch, everyone does. Now, smartass, what¡¯s your issue with punctuality?¡± Enlil most certainly wished to punch him in reality, but alas the guy would most likely kill him.


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just too much of a dumbass to understand.¡± Insults were their only method of communication at this point and Enlil didn¡¯t want to admit to being asleep on the first day.


    ¡°Looks like someone¡¯s foot is way too high in their ass.¡± They both had entered the main building, it was decorated with polished wooden walls and strong lights hanging overhead. The wooden floor was present in both dormitories, that Enlil could be certain of. They weren¡¯t decorated in any way, there were empty notice-boards present and empty shelves every now and then. The duo walked to the right where Arch still led.


    ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t cause destructive vandalism.¡± Enlil grinned, he had developed some form of enjoyment out of insulting the boy.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the door is the least of your concerns, pompous shit-head. If vandalism upsets you, being an avatar is going to be the devil.¡± Arch chuckled, Enlil was quite confounded by his words and could only sigh in response.


    Both of them had arrived at a mahogany door where Arch pushed open the door without the use of his feet, Enlil had entered to see the alignment of 16 seats, all had wooden desks which were firmly rooted into the ground. The seats appeared quite comfortable, they had a foam stuffing with a spongy layer coating them. Arch had already went towards his in the back of the classroom, Enlil was about to move as well but was unfortunately interrupted.


    ¡°Mr.Drake.¡± Enlil was caught off-guard by the stoic voice. He turned to face a tall man who was stood at six-feet tall. His torso had a white shirt over it, there was nothing eye-catching about it and in turn his trousers were blandly grey, it made him appear as a business man. ¡°Why were you late?¡±


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    ¡°I fell asleep.¡± Enlil directly admitted, he had a slight fear that if he had tried to lie it would have backfired on him heavily. It was a teacher who was clearly more knowledgeable than him. The man showed a soft sigh and pointed towards at the second seat on the second row. He didn¡¯t have a need to lecture Enlil.


    Maybe deep down he had known that Enlil wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake, or he had lost hope that Enlil would ever become an Avatar. Either way, it spared Enlil.


    As he had walked towards his seat, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face; Kiera. She was only one seat diagonal from him from his right. She even gave him a small wave when their eyes had met, although it was most likely a wave in pity. When he had sat down, the teacher had begun, stepping back and allowing Enlil to see a green chalk-board which was behind him. Although, it was most likely his ignorance which caused him to ignore it.


    ¡°Now that everyone is present, there is something essential that must be taken care of first.¡± The teacher pointed at each student by moving his finger from each column. ¡°Pick a team of four. However, pick carefully since you won¡¯t be able to change and will be your team for the rest of the school year. And if you graduate as a team, which you¡¯ll most likely do so, maybe even life.¡±


    Enlil was shocked, he had never heard of such things. Picking a team of four? For what? Graduating with them? Why would that be the case? What happened to the stories of Avatars being lone-wolves and becoming strong on their own? Is it even possible for someone to graduate solo in the academy?


    People were already moving and making teams in the class, even ones who were sat down were confronted by some people.


    Enlil knew nothing of what was going on, he never heard of the system to begin with. However, if he had to, he wasn¡¯t going to wuss away from it. So, he had to pick his team-mates from what he could deduce! If he could deduce anything at all.


    ¡°Okay, seems like we¡¯re done here.¡± Enlil¡¯s ears perked up when he heard the teacher¡¯s voice, he looked around and saw three groups of four and three others sitting in their seats.


    One was Kiera, Enlil was surprised that she was left out if anyone considered her calm nature, she seemed like an efficient team-mate and maybe even the best there was in the classroom.


    The second was a girl who was one diagonal from the left of Enlil, she was looking downwards into a book and appeared to be inattentive to her surroundings. Her hair was iridescent and was styled in a french braid and reached down to the center of her back. She was one of the students who had dressed formally for their first school day, she wore a pale-white dress which reached down to her knees.


    The last one, which was all the way in the corner of the classroom was none other than Arch, Enlil had an understanding of why people wouldn¡¯t choose him but that same understanding also made him realise why he himself wasn¡¯t chosen.


    ¡°There¡¯s always one every year.¡± The teacher folded his arms, his eyes glared at each of the four. ¡°You four will be a team, since there is no other option left. There will be no discussion.¡±


    Enlil wanted to argue, but the teacher¡¯s presence grew quite threatening, he didn¡¯t even look up and just nodded in agreement, whatever caused such fear to be instilled into him was something he didn¡¯t want to trifle with. When he looked at the others, he saw they were also distressed from the situation and none of them were daring to argue.


    What was the teacher¡¯s trick for such obedience?


    (Author Notes:


    Author¡¯s notes are quite weird, don¡¯t even know why I do them. Ah, well. Anyways, here¡¯s all the main characters! So far¡­ :3)

 Chapter 4: Thymos

    "I will not explain again, so can you listen this time?" The green-haired girl sternly addressed Enlil, he appeared to struggle keeping himself awake. "It is called Thymos, commonly referred to as Thy, it is described as an energy which is dormant within people and possesses limitless if not infinite possibilities. It is the fundamental power of all Avatars!"


    Enlil''s head was resting on the desk, he scruffed up his head in frustration as he looked back up at the girl, she merely sighed at him. "You didn''t understand anything, did you?"


    "No, I got it, it''s some sort of power which Avatars use, right?" Enlil merrily spoke, the girl nodded almost falling to sleep on the desk herself. The two were sat at a desk located in the library which seated four people, in front of the girl was a pile of books and the two other chairs were empty with open books in front of them. Enlil had a singular book which he was using more as a pillow instead of studying tool.


    "It only took thirteen simplified versions." The girl rubbed her head and looked back down at the books open in front of her, scanning over them. "How much do you know about the classifications of Thy?"


    "Absolutely nothing. I could use your help again, Siofra." A cheeky smile extended across Enlil''s face, Siofra calmly threw her head into the book.


    "This is going to be a long year..." It was at that point Kiera and Arch had returned, both placed more books down and sighed in response to Siofa''s current state.


    "How long did it take for him to learn Thy?" Arch queried, Siofra held up five of her fingers, they both shivered with knowledge that they''d have to work with him. "Five hours, I''m surprised he even learnt to use it within class."


    "This isn''t working, at this rate we''ll all be held back by Enlil." Kiera glared towards Enlil, he glared back but only in curiosity. He appeared to lack any knowledge of what was going on around him. "He can use Thy, even if he doesn''t understand it properly. So, my best guess is that Enlil really sucks at being studying and is more of an active learner."The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Your plan is for Enlil to basically learn everything in here by doing it?" Arch widened his arms to point out the jokingly stupidity of the idea, Kiera simply nodded and ripped out a page.


    "Enlil, you can use Thy, right?" To her question; Enlil just nodded. "Good, then exert some onto this paper."


    When handed the paper, Enlil asked no questions and did as he was asked. A colourless aura gathered around his fingers, it looked as if it was flowing and stopped immediately when it reached the palm of his hand. It looked as if nothing had happened to the paper, Enlil tilted his head and with that the paper folded also! When he resumed to his previous stance the paper returned as well!


    "Unbelieveable, that was the last thing of my mind to classify his Thy as." Arch mumbled, despite the bemused expressions he was met with by his teammates, they all had quite a bit of shock as well.


    "Well, he''s got something going for him." Kiera forced a smile, Enlil looked towards Siofra for some answers.


    "There''s six classifications of Thy, Enlil: offensive, defensive, control, beastly, agile and strengthening. Some are more rare than others." Siofra rested her head on her left hand, pointing towards the paper. "You possess the rarest, control. It''s like having the ability to take a lot of beatings and not feel any pain, although that''s one application."


    "Oh, if it''s good... why do you guys look so disappointed?" Enlil questioned, they all rolled their eyes at him.


    "It took you half a day to learn that when we got ours within an hour." Arch explained, he then turned back to his book and flipped through the pages, it took a few seconds until he landed on what he actually wanted. He lifted it up and showed Kiera and Siofra. "If we teach him everything by ourselves, since Kiera''s approach of being an active learner has some ground to it, then he''ll be at the same rate as us."


    "True... and it would be better than sitting here all the time and trying to explain things to him." Kiera mumbled, picking up the book, her eyes looked deeply engrossed within the words that were writen, it took a few seconds until she stood up. "Enlil, we''re going outside. You''re going to learn how to use sub-classification."


    "Sure we can teach him? The information within the books is limited and we begin it tomorow." Siofa queried, Kiera retorted with a gesture for them all to stand up.


    "We''re going to be a bit ahead of the class, besides we don''t have to sit in it if we learn everything." Kiera chuckled, Arch and Siofra stood up, Enlil followed after them while he was somewhat confused about what they had planned for him.


    "I was thinking-" Enlil began suggesting ideas before he was cut off.


    "Don''t do that, I feel as if a lot of things will go wrong if you do." Arch whined, Enlil scratched the back of his head and follwed Kiera who began leading them outside.