Winter and Moon

“Oh my goddess, you have two divine paths!”

Kaltain grasps Wyn's mouth firmly and glares darkly at her. “Keep your voice down.”

When Wyn nods in understanding, Kaltain lets go. Afraid the girl might see her as mean for some reason, she says softly, “Look at my mark again and this time, give me a better assessment.”

Wyn gaze drops. She stares for a while at the mark with furrowed brows, looking between it and her notes.

Moon— a crescent moon…..When someone completes their control and perfection of a divine path, their mark turns into the symbol.

“Oh.” She grasps. “Your mark is a full moon.” Turning to face Kaltain with wide eyes, she exclaims. “Why do you have a complete symbol?”

‘I knew you had a brain in there.’ Kaltain shakes her head lightly. “We don’t know what a completed symbol of the Moon path looks like yet, so it could be something else. Whatever the case may be, just be on the down-low about it until we figure it out.”

Kaltain knew she couldn’t hide it forever, but until she talked to her parents, she wouldn’t go out exposing it carelessly.

“Okay, I understand.” Wyn nods seriously and then nudges Kaltain's shoulder playfully. “It’s still pretty cool. You’re the second in history to have two divine marks.”

“Oh, yeah, I heard a rumor about that. Who is the first?”

“Vienna. She has the Star and Sun divine marks.”

Kaltain nods nonchalantly. “How fun. She’s wise and strong.”

Overhearing some of their conversation from beside Wyn, Kallias adds, “She used to date my brother, Rune.”

“Really? Scarlet Star and Angel of Storms?” Wyn looks at him with interest. “What happened between them?”

Kaltain wasn’t interested in the romance conversation, so she chimes in with a question she’s been wondering about since the trial, “Did Calix kill your brother?”

Kallias flinches hard. His eyes snap over to Kaltain. He says nothing for a good moment, his expression clouded with lost.

Kavish Polymina, youngest son of the Heavenly Star Lord, Arian, passed away during the Deathly Journey.

Kaltain didn’t know if the boy had talent or not, but as a holy child, he shouldn’t have died in that trial considering he has traits of an angel.

Arian Polymina had one wife and three mistresses. Kavish, Calix, and Lycidas are triplets of one of those mistresses. A funeral for Kavish hasn’t been held because the Pillar, Arian, was disappointed in his son and disowned him.

The Star Clan is known for their brutality with each other. They have no love for one another, greed and strength the only ties beside lineage connecting them.

Kaltain wasn’t alone in thinking one of Kallias brothers killed Kavish, she was simply the only one bold enough to outright ask.

“I didn’t even think of Calix killing him,” Kallias mutters.

“Why not?”

Kallias clasped his hands together tightly and cast his gaze downward. “Calix vowed he wouldn’t be like Rune and Lycidas told me how Kavish died. He drowned in a pond of lava trying to speed over it.”

‘And what, he just watched him drown?’ Kaltain holds back the urge to scoff. “It didn’t occur to you that they could lie?”

“We promised to never lie to each other. Me, Calix, Lycidas, and Kavish.” They were all fifteen years old and were the closest out of the Polymina’s. “Do you think one of them did it, Kaltain? You don’t even know my brothers.” Kallias voice takes a sharp, harsh turn. “How could you when you’re from the north? You all hide beneath snow and call it ice.”

Kaltain sat straighter in her seat, hands clenching and eyes narrowing with malice. “You wanna fucking repeat that, boy?”

Kallias suppresses the urge to flinch. Instead, he holds Kaltain's fierce gaze with anger of his own, along with a hint of contempt flaring in the purple irises.

Hide beneath the snow and call it ice is a mocking term the Sun Clan came up with long ago and is echoed behind Winter Clans back. It means that beneath their ice shield is a strength that can melt.

No clan, especially a holy one, wants to be viewed as breakable.

Tension thickens around them, gaining the attention of students nearby.

Wyn's spine stiffens and she gains the courage to finally speak. “G-guys, let’s just calm down! We’re all friends, right? Kaltain was just sharing her thoughts. I don’t think she meant to be rude, and Kallias, you’re being defensive of your family. A normal instinct.”

Wyn tries to soothe the ever growing tension, and to her relief, Miss Shadeen returns.

“Sorry, freshmen, I had to pick these up from the front office.” Her gentle voice resounds, silencing the room with ease. In her hand was a stack of documents in folders.

Kallias breaks eye contact first, rolling his shoulder in hope of relieving his anger, while feeling the cold eyes of Kaltain still upon him.

Divine Research and Cultivation is held for five hours and as the clock hits 1:00 pm, the end of class arrives.

A smooth chime resounds through the building as Shadeen sets the folders on the desk in four piles.

“These packets contain information on the divine paths skills and basic attack ideas. When you gain deeper control of your power, you may come up with your own attacks.” She takes a seat on the round chair. “Grab one as you leave.”

Kaltain waits until she’s the last one in the room before standing up and heading towards the front.

As she grabs a packet inscribed in a crescent moon, alongside one with snowflakes with her unmarked hand, Shadeen stops her.

“You can only grab the one of your path.”

“I know.” Kaltain hesitated to show off her right hand before extending it across the desk.

Shadeen gasps in shock. “Holy gods, you have more than one!”

Kaltain didn’t give the professor time to look the mark over. She dashes out the room. After making sure she’s distances away, she slows her steps and slides the documents into her backpack.

The freshmen had lunch from 1:00 pm to 2:00pm. It was already 1:07 pm.

Kaltain remembered hearing Wyn say something about meeting her in the cafeteria, but she didn’t think she had enough control to not start a fight with Kallias.

Neither of them were truly Kaltain friends. She doesn’t know where that logic came from, only knowing it’s off logic by a mile. Maybe even five or ten.

Kaltain made up her mind quickly. Go to the office, then the dorm room to eat some snacks while studying her divine paths.

In five minutes, she arrives at the front desk located in the main building. The lady from before wasn’t there. It was a man this time.

He was muscular and tall even when seated, possessing short neat gray hair, almond light brown eyes, brown long bread, and wearing a black suit.

“Hello,” she greets him politely. “Please dial Winter Clan Pillar, Hael Melpomene.” Upon seeing the man’s hesitance, she adds, “I’m his daughter, Kaltain.”

After a full minute of silence that brings a hint of awkwardness, he asks gruffly, “Do you not have a Lightless mobile?”

A Lightless mobile was a phone provided by the academy, which connects you to the school web, along with a digital class schedule, and the council members number. When you pass the trial, you’ve given four things—a school uniform and training clothes, a physical paper of your class schedule, and a phone.

Kaltain didn’t want to admit she doesn’t know the household or her parents' numbers. She never needed to save that information with spatial memory. She had her phone. A button call away.

She tried to search her memories for a time when she used that phone and called them, but it was sad to say none existed. She was always at the house and they would call her if needed, and when that happened, the name contact was shown, not the number.

Kaltain does as she does best and remains silent, blankly staring into the man's eyes. After a few seconds, he looks away in discomfort and pulls up a screen of Winter Clans numbers. His meaty fingers glide over the round keypad of the office phone. 

‘Good grief.’ Kaltain realized as a child most people hate to make eye contact with someone appearing emotionless. It was like staring into a piece of death, she heard someone utter once.

“Kitty?” Hael Melpomene's calm voice came through the dark brown device as Kaltain held it to her ear.

She slowly darts her eyes around. The man went to take a smoke break, leaving her alone. With caution and a small voice, she reports to her father.

When the trial ended, they were ushered into the academy without a goodbye to their families, so Kaltain never got the chance to inquire with anyone she trusts about the divine marks.

The Pillar of Winter Clan went silent for a few seconds. Then, he says, “I heard of a similar case there. A girl—not that ahead in age of you possessing two divine marks. No one knows her birthplace, but rumors are she's from another realm, so her situation isn’t entirely similar to you.” He pauses, seeming to choose his words carefully. “The full moon mark could be because of that tattoo. That’s the only lead I can think of right now. I’m sorry, dear, I wish I had better answers. I’ll get back to you after I’ve gained intel.”

Kaltain frowns deeply as a click buzzes her ear. He hung up. Running away.

Absent-mindedly, she brought a hand to her hip bone and felt her mind wander into dark tunnels of the past.

Thirty minutes later.

A cart full of chocolate milk, birthday cake rice cakes, and a bowl of raspberries sat on the desk table in the girls dorm. Scattered beside them were two documents.

The sound of pages turning fills the room, occasionally followed by crunching and swallowing.

Winter:

Cold resistant, sensing of spiritual aura, and summoning of ice creatures such as snow beast, ice dragons, bears, etc.

This divine path uses spiritual energy.

Ice manipulation—create blizzards, snow, and ice sculpture soldiers, along with shields and weapons attacks such as knives, swords, and spears.

Weather magic—control the elemental nature related: wind, lightning, and rain. Also can control temperature, causing the air to grow cold or produce heat.

Moon:

Lunar control—manipulate phases of the moon, curing it to wax and wane as desired, or create glowing orbs.

Illusion magic—casting hallucinations or disguises.

Darkness manipulation—control shadows and darkness, using it for stealth or concealment.

This divine path uses lunar energy, where you can absorb and control it to increase intuition, traits, or heal mental and emotional wounds.

Kaltain focuses intently on the words as she stores the worthy information into her memory.

‘Heal mental or emotional wounds? How does that work?’

As she flips to the last page of each packet, Kaltain is disappointed to find out most of the information was just repeated shit. It mostly explains what you can do over and over again, not how to. ‘These are the basics. No way in hell was Lightless going to offer overpowering abilities from the get go. Not until they harden you into a great warrior. To become omnipotent, one must climb there themselves, through their own hardships and blood.’

Kaltain sighs and checks the clock on her phone. 1:57pm.

She had three minutes to head over to her second class, which is located in the massive fogged mountain behind Lightless.