I took the last sip of my jazzberry juice, and heard the familiar hum of the transporter being activated. Markus perked up to see who it might be, but once he saw it was Master Kiev and a tall man dressed in a black Protector uniform, he went back to finishing up the last of his food.

  I greeted Master Kiev with a smile. “I was hoping I’d get to see you one more time before I left.”

  The older man returned my smile and stopped at the threshold where the living room and balcony met. The other man stopped a few paces behind him.

  “Well, I wanted to make sure to see you off, and to give introductions,” the Master Mind Bender turned to the man behind him. “This is Evez Tetki the Emperor’s new Protector.”

  I looked to the other man with surprise. I had all but forgotten about my father getting a new Protector. I knew that there had been a tenth man on the list Vang vetted for my potential Protectors, which my father had chosen from to replace Captain Hame, but I had not actually seen the file of the tenth person and no one had told me any particulars.

  Evez Tetki appeared to fit the physical profile of many of those I had seen at the College so far. He was well endowed with a muscular form, though not quite the Arnold Schwarzenegger wannabe that Hame had been. He was quite short, at least a couple heads shorter than myself maybe a little more, with his blond hair at the familiar cropped length all College staff wore. The most noticeable trait about him though were his eyes. The irises were a deep orange with a slight glow.

  Master Kiev must have seen the startled look on my face, because he was quick to explain. “You haven’t met an Elemental yet have you?”

  I looked to the Master with what I was sure was total cluelessness. “No, can’t say that I have.”

  “There aren’t many left, I’m afraid. Most never leave their home world or don’t stray too far from it, so it’s quite rare to get any at the College. We are lucky to have Tetki with us.”

  I eyed the man again, but he didn’t seem put out by my staring. Either he was used to it, or he just didn’t care. “I’m assuming Elementals have special abilities?” I ventured.

  Kiev nodded. “Yes, Tetki is a fire elemental, which allows him to manipulate heat, and to a small degree create it as well.”

  Wow. Why couldn’t I have gotten a cool ability like that? Then another thought came to me. “So there are different Elementals then?”

  The Master nodded. “Yes, there are many, but I’m not sure the exact number, and most Elementals I know don’t really like to talk about their ability or others who have it. In fact, they are the only ones who come to the College that don’t get advanced training in their abilities because we don’t have Elementals on staff. Though, from the little I have heard, they do their training different than the rest of us, and usually have full access to their abilities by adulthood.”

  Kiev threw a look back to Tetki as if to confirm that statement, but the Protector’s gaze remained fixed to spot somewhere beyond me and didn’t seem the least inclined to confirm or deny the Master’s words.

  “But you have a three day trip to Dyniss ahead of you,” Kiev continued. “Maybe you can get Tetki to talk about himself and his people a little.”

  My gaze traveled back to the Protector and I was hit with a wave of disapproval coming from the man. Yeah, I didn’t think he’d be very open to that kind of conversation. But I had to admit that I was intrigued and I wondered why Dur-rele never mentioned these Elementals when he was giving me a rundown of many of the Dome-ni abilities that people in the Empire could be born with. One way or another, I was going to dig a little deeper into these interesting people.

  A chirp came from across the table from me. A moment later, I heard Rainus give an exasperated sigh. I looked over to the King.

  “I just received a weather warning. There’s a sandstorm brewing just outside the College. They think it’s too close to try and fly a shuttle out. It’s recommending that we delay our departure until the storm has passed.”

  “Oh,” was all I could manage.

  I had to admit that I was actually a little disappointed. Over the last few days, I had started to prepare myself to go back to the White Palace, and while I wasn’t overly eager to return to my studies with Dur-rele––who apparently had returned to the Capitol when I had gone missing earlier in the week––I was excited about the prospect of spending more time in the garden my father had gifted me just before I had left––my mother’s garden. And, of course, the prospect of being somewhere the weather was cooler and not quite so intense.

  “How long of a delay?” I asked.

  “The storm looks like it should clear out for us to leave this afternoon,” Rainus said.

  So not a terrible delay then. I nodded. “Well, that’s not too bad. What should we do in the meantime?”

  The King looked to a game board I had noticed last night during our dinner. It had three separate layers on spinally white rods a hand-width space from one to the next and staggered upwards like stairs leading to nowhere. Each of the layers were decorated with alternating white and translucent squares. Four straight rows of tiny white figures occupied the bottom board.

  It had caught my interest, but through all the conversations last night, I had forgotten to inquire about the board. I know it had not been there earlier in the week when I had first come to the chalet, so I figured one of the newer guests had brought it with them. By the look on Rainus’s face, I imaged it to be his.

  “Is the board yours?” I asked.

  Rainus face lit up obviously pleased I had asked. “It is. Would you like me to show you how to play?”

  “I would love to.”

  A low growling noise came from Markus as he pushed back his chair and stood up. “Yavit, pavi. At least let him get to know you a little better before you start annihilating him at Sovereign.”

  I looked to Markus, and then Rainus with a questioning expression. Markus almost sounded angry, but as usual his barrier was up and I got no emotions from him except the hard tone of his voice. Why would Markus be angry over a game?

  “He’s the one expressing interest, Markus.” Rainus said then turned to me, “Despite Markus’s implications, I don’t win every single game. And since you are just learning, it will mostly be me explaining the pieces, the rules of engagement, and a demonstration of some strategies that are common in the game. Though if you are feeling more adventurous we can play a few games. I will say though that it can get quite complicated, so if that seems too heavy for you right now, we can attempt this later.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I looked to Master Kiev. “Can you stay, or do you have somewhere to be?”

  The man shook his head. “While I’d love to stick around, I have the First Years to teach. You know, that class you had to bow out of.”

  I chuckled as I thought of me trying to do Mind Bending exercises and failing in Kiev’s class while I’d been masquerading as a Cadet. Naturally, since I wasn’t a Mind Bender, I had failed my attempts and had to leave the class with the promise of “remedial training”. The whole purpose of me taking the class was to be in Kiev’s orbit, so he could better keep an eye on me while I’d been undercover. The whole experience had been enlightening in many ways, and I wouldn’t soon forget it.

  “Then please tell me you will come to Dyniss for a visit, or will I have to make an excuse to need a Master Mind Bender to get you there?” I asked.

  “Well, I do have some leave coming up in a few months.” Master Kiev replied. “I suppose a trip to the Capitol would a nice way to spend it. I don’t get off Sora X too often these days.”

  “Good, then it’s settled.” I stood up and approached the man, stopping an arm’s length in front of him. “Thank you for everything, Elorkis,” I said, making sure to use his first name. “I can’t tell you how much your company and friendship has meant to me. I think my life would be much poorer without it.”

  The man’s face flushed a bit, and nodded. “I feel the same. Stay safe, Adar, and if you do have need of a Mind Bender, please do not hesitate to call. In fact, let me give you my information.”

  The Master raised his arm, pressed the inside of the silver bracelet, and then reached his arm out toward me. I had been given a new unity ring to replace the one Markus had destroyed in the bunker. Someone had already programed it with my father’s, Dur-rele’s, Markus’s, and even Rainus’s contact information. Now as I tapped Kiev’s unity ring, mine was instantly loaded with the Master’s call link.

  Kiev then gave a low bow and walked toward the transporter. In moments, he was enveloped in green light and whisked away to the ground floor. While I had been chatting with Kiev, Rainus and Protector Tetki had been speaking quietly. The man was now taking up a guard position behind me and just inside the residence. I turned a questioning eye to Rainus.

  “Since his charge isn’t here, and he hasn’t anything else better to do, he’ll be taking up a guard position here and on the ship to Dyniss,” Rainus answered my unasked question.

  “He could just enjoy some time off,” I replied throwing the Protector another glance and feeling more and more creeped out by the glowing orange eyes every time I looked his way. That was going to take some getting used to.

  Rainus chuckled as he settled at the small table just inside the residence where the three tier game board was currently set up. “I would think after a few days of getting an up close and personal experience with the Protectorate trainees that you’d know better than to make a comment like that.”

  I noticed Markus had taken up a guard position on the opposite side the room right across from where Tetki stood. I also couldn’t help but notice the heated glare he shot at the newly bonded Protector. But whether it was a warning to Tetki not to make the mistake of his predecessor or that Markus was peeved at the unexpected change, I did not know.

  I took a seat across from Rainus as I watched the King pick up a piece that had the unmistakable representation of a Protector complete with the short cropped hair and a knee length coat that appeared to be the style of the College, and even a tiny dragon crest on it’s right shoulder. Rainus touched the round bottom of the figure and it cycled through a rainbow of colors until the Protector figure was the same evergreen color of the overcoat the King was wearing now. He then set it down, and did the same with the next piece.

  There were two rows of figures in front of me, and so I copied the King. The first piece I picked up had a short ponytail and a long coat, much like I’d seen on Vang and his Zahnians, so I figured this represented a solider. I turned it over and pressed, and sure enough the pristine white changed to a pale yellow. I pressed again, and the color shifted to a deep crimson. I also noticed that a crest on the right shoulder changed to the different houses. Very cool indeed. I cycled through until I found a cerulean blue, and sure enough, the Zahn crest lay on the shoulder.

  I looked up with what I knew was a wide grin. “That is very cool.”

  Rainus’s brow creased as a puzzled expression came over him. “They shouldn’t be cold.”

  I almost laughed, but managed to keep it back. “Sorry, I can speak Enic, and quite fluently now, but I forget that some of the colorful phrases I picked up on the world I was raised don’t always translate well. That statement just means that the figurine’s color changing is very excellent.”

  “Ah, yes, I suppose it is. It makes for a more interesting game,” he said as he continued to change the color of his pieces.

  I did the same. “Do you always use your own color?”

  “No, many times I like to switch it up and work with other houses, and when I do that I try to put myself in that particular King’s head and sometimes the Emperor’s too as I play. It’s a great way to exercise the mind and to keep one’s wits sharp.”

  “And to get in the minds of the other houses.” I said as I finished with the first row and started on the second.

  “Indeed. I know your father’s aide Dur-rele has been giving you lessons since returning to Ethia. I am surprised he hasn’t taught you this game yet. It’s a marvelous learning tool.”

  “Maybe he just didn’t get around to it yet.”

  Though I suspected Dur-rele wasn’t much of a game player. He seemed more concerned with facts and reports, and I had a hard time picturing him sitting down to do any sort of teaching exercises with this game, or playing it for fun either.

  “That’s alright. This just means I get the honor of introducing you to the great game of Sovereign.” He had finished changing all sixteen pieces to the dark green and sat back while I finished with mine. “I can certainly guide you through getting into the mental head spaces of the other noble houses at some point if you wish, but for now let’s keep it simple and learn the basics.”

  I finished with my pieces and looked up finding excitement building inside. I had always loved to play games, especially the strategy type. I had even been a member of a chess club in high school for a time. And it seemed this game might be similar to that. So I gave my undivided attention to the King as he explained the rules and movements of each of the pieces.

  An hour later, he’d managed to lay waste to four of my campaigns with the effortless and ease of a master strategist, and I knew I had my work cut out for me. I grinned as I set the pieces back in their starting position after the latest defeat.

  “I can’t say that I have ever had anyone grinning like that after losing so many games to me in a row,” Rainus said with a healthy dose of amusement in his voice.

  I bobbed my head up and down as I swiftly reset my team of soldiers along the first row. Sovereign was indeed very similar to chess, though with a noticeable difference in the movement of pieces and a few of the rules. The most distinct divergence was the three layer board, which brought a dimensional way of thinking to the game that I had found quite invigorating.

  “You were right. This is a great way to learn, and I am enjoying the lessons. It’s certainly more fun than enduring heavy-handed lectures from Admiral Vang or dry instruction from Dur-ele.”

  Rainus chuckled. “Well, I am glad you are finding it useful. It’s too bad more people didn’t have the same way of thinking as you do.”

  It was obvious who he meant in that last part of the statement, but I pretended to ignore the glare Markus sent his father as I set up my king and queen beside each other, with a prince to the queen’s left and the king’s right, and then two protectors on the far side of each prince.

  Rainus said that no side, not even the Zahn house had an emperor to start out, because the goal of the game was for one side to crown his king as emperor by the king reaching the top tier and opposite side of the board before it was seized by the opposing side. It was a task that I was finding quite impossible when facing an astute player such as Rainus, but I was eager for the challenge and glad he wasn’t just letting me win because I was new to the game or trying to appease my station as a Prince of the Empire.

  “Before we start this round,” King Rainus said, “I want to show you a couple of moves that you might find useful. You seem to have picked up the basics quite well, so I’m going to give you what some would consider intermediate maneuvers.”

  I leaned forward eager to see what he had in store and more than a little pleased he considered me worthy of the more advanced tactics even though we’d only been playing for an hour. Maybe I wasn’t doing as terribly as I thought, but before he could even set the protector he’d picked up down on the board, there was a loud boom in the distance, and immediately after, the room shook all around us.

  Ranius looked to me with a startled look that I was sure matched my own. I was about to ask what the heck that was, when Markus raced passed us out to the balcony. He took a long look over the edge, and that’s when I felt a stifling wave of heat blow into the room along with the arid smell of burnt metal and dry earth.

  “The perimeter shield is down,” Markus said as he rushed back into the room, his expression grim, “and the storm is right over the College.”