Humayre: The Chronicles of Ronin Wilder
Chapter 14

Maple syrup, some kind of meat, maybe bacon, and pancakes, the smells were pungent and delicious. There was no sign of the food yet but Ronin imagined how delicious it would all soon be. Drool formed under his tongue and his stomach moaned. The cheeseburger and fries Mr. Jones had brought up to him the night before had gone to waste, excitement and nerves had all but defeated his hunger. He’d have no trouble eating now though, his stomach was in full control.

The four massive fireplaces blazed in the Great Hall. The combination of warmth and delicious smells comforted Ronin’s nerves. All the tables were full that morning. The sounds of joyous clamor echoed off the stone walls. The second year students sat directly across from Ronin’s table. The table closest to Ronin’s was the fourth year table. Next to that table was the third year’s. No matter where he looked everyone had smiles on their faces and excitement in their eyes.

The teachers sat a large table behind the podium. Ronin guessed it was the teachers table because Cyrus was sitting there. Something odd occurred to Ronin. No one in the entire Hall looked older than twenty.

“Hey,” said Kevin, nudging Ronin. “Did you notice how young all the teachers look?”

“That’s funny,” said Ronin. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Kind of strange, but whatever. This whole place is weird,” said Kevin. He picked up his map. It was made of a cream colored leathery like paper. “Did you check this out yet?”

Ronin was holding his school schedule, which was printed on the same sort of paper as the map. “No, not yet. Been looking at my schedule though.” He eyed Kevin’s schedule laying in front of him. “Can I check yours out? See if we have any of the same classes?”

Kevin grabbed his schedule and handed it to Ronin. “Hey. After The Awakening let’s go check this place out.” Kevin pointed to a building on the map. “Bub’s Pub. I bet that’s the hang out spot here.”

“Sure,” said Ronin. If they dont send me home first. Diverting his mind to more positive things, he added, “Looks like we have all of our classes together.”

“Nice,” said Kevin. “Check this out.” He pointed to another building on the map. “They have a general store. I wonder If could get some gum there?”

“I don’t know.” Ronin was only half listening. The schedule in front of him commanded his attention. Intro, his first class, was the one he was most eager to start. Surely he would get some much needed answers there. The next class was Defensive Sword Techniques. Not your typical class but it sounded fun, none the less. Beginning Offensive Sword Techniques followed by Advanced Offensive Sword Techniques. The school was obviously very focused on sword techniques. Beginning Dueling, his fourth class, sounded like fun. Basic Education was last on the list.

Mr. Wetstone took the podium and raised his hands. “Okay everyone. Quiet down for a moment please. I have a few announcements I need to make.” The room silenced, leaving the crackling and hissing of burning wood as the only sounds. “Thank you.” He glanced at a paper laying on his podium and then back up at his audience. He continued. “This year is going to be exceptionally cold. Snow will soon be coming. I want everyone in long sleeves and jackets when you are out and about. I know some of you think it’s funny to wear sho…”

Laughter broke out, interrupting Mr. Wetstone. One of the students yelled, “Jason!”

“Okay,” said Mr. Westone. “Calm down.” He motioned with his hands to quiet down. “Most of you have enough sense to know not to go out in the snow half-naked. But there are few of you who do not.” He forced a fake cough into his hands and quickly blurted, “Jason.”

All the second, third and fourth years erupted into laughter. The first years, including Ronin, just sat with dumbfounded looks on their faces, obviously not privy to the inside joke.

“Okay, Okay,” said Mr. Wetstone, trying to control his own laughter. “That was my fault. Everyone calm down. We do have a lot we have to get through today.” He looked to the first years. “You guys are confusing the Freshys.”

More laughter, the whole Hall was almost shaking.

“Sorry,” said Mr. Wetstone. “I couldn’t resist.” He motioned again for silence. “I am serious about students wearing proper attire. We cannot afford a bunch of frostbite cases. You do have a purpose here, anything that might slow your progress has to be avoided.” He faced the first years. “With that said I think everyone but the first years know what a momentous day this is.” All students but the first years slapped their tables and cheered out.

“The Awakening is your first step,” said Mr. Wetstone, looking down the row of wide-eyed students staring up at him. “Your first step into a world of honor and purpose.” He stepped down from the podium and stood directly in front of Ronin’s table. “I see a lot of scared and confused faces. We are sorry for keeping you in the dark with so many things, but we have been doing this for a long time. Through trial and error we have come to the conclusion that limiting the amount of information we give you helps your minds process it all better. With that said I am now going to explain to you what exactly The Awakening is.”

Finally. Ronin yawned. Despite the comfort of his new bed he wasn’t able to sleep much, questions without answers had been weighing heavily on his mind.

“The Awakening,” said Mr. Wetstone. “It is the reason why all of you are here.” He paused, then continued, “One in three hundred thousand Americans are gifted Mayre. Of those gifted, only half are able to be awakened. That’s how rare all of you are.” He looked down the row of sitting kids. “The Mayre in your bodies gives off a very specific energy signal. This energy signal is at the height of its power once you turn sixteen, only then are we able to use our specially designed equipment to locate you. Which leads us to the test you all took yesterday. It was a simple ruse. We already had you all picked out. The ruse was necessary because people ask questions when kids are removed from school for no apparent reason. Questions are a luxury we cannot afford.”

Mr. Wetstone took a deep breath and continued. “What is the Awakening? First and foremost, it is Dr. Storm’s discovery. Without him none of this would be possible and your world would now be an entirely different place than you know.” He rubbed his hands through his hair. “The Awakening is achieved through exposure to uranium oxide. The process is painless and has no side effects. All of this will be done via a device of Dr. Storm’s own design.” He caught his breath. “The Mayre in your bodies is locked away in your DNA. Think of a shelled peanut. You first have to remove the shell to get at what’s inside. Just like the peanut the Mayre in a human’s body is sheathed in a protective shell. That shell has to be removed in order for the Mayre to flow freely through your systems. And that is what The Awakening is. It is the removal of the shell that keeps the Mayre from achieving its purpose. Once awakened your body will go through a great change. You will be faster, stronger, process external stimuli at a quicker rate. And maybe most importantly, you will be able to emit an aura that cripples all technology. We call this ability TS or Technology Suppression.”

All of the first years hung on Mr. Wetstone’s every word. Some even had forgotten to breathe.

“These gifts have a purpose,” continued Mr. Wetstone. “Our enemies are strong and many. The Vein have no conscience. They will kill without a second thought if it furthers their desires. They outnumber us by an extreme margin. We estimate more than a hundred thousand of them are spread throughout your world. They even have your same gifts. However, most of them are stronger and faster than you will ever hope to be. Vigorous training, teamwork and their inability to unite are the only things that give us the advantage.”

The seriousness in Mr. Wetstone’s voice demanded Ronin’s full attention. He almost had to remind himself to blink.

Mr. Wetstone continued, “Because of this advantage we have been able come to an understanding or treaty. The Vein, despite their absolute ruthlessness, are very concerned with their own survival. They know we have the upper hand and therefore have agreed to certain terms. Our job is to enforce these terms by any means necessary. That is not to say that we go in with swords swinging. We always use diplomacy first. We have to remember that even though we have the advantage now that could easily change if we press too hard. And that brings us back to our purpose. We will train you to be keepers of the peace.”

Rubbing his chin, Mr. Wetstone shook his head, and added, “The sword. Not sure how I could’ve overlooked it.” His eyes grew weary. The speech seemed to be taking a toll on him. “The sword will be your life from this point forward. The Vein all but worship the sword. They train tirelessly. If you do not at least match their efforts you will have no chance against them in combat. You are probably wondering why the sword. The answer is simple. No other form of combat is effective against them. When fighting a Vein you can rest assured that they will be using their TS against you.”

Glancing to his left Ronin wanted to see if Kevin looked as scared and confused as he was feeling. But, as usual, Kevin looked calm and unfazed. The only explanation Ronin could come up with was that Kevin knew Mrs. Kinney and had years of training under her. Ronin chuckled to himself.

“This brings me to another point,” said Mr. Westone. “None of your abilities will be fully realized until you have made your Mayreblade, or Blood Sword as the Vein call it. The Sword Ceremony is when this will happen, but we can worry about that later. First you need to make it through your first year.” He wiped the sweat from his brow.

“There’s something else I almost forgot. I’m sorry. These speeches exhaust me and I don’t always remember what I need to say. We have one final thing we need disclose. What I am about to tell you may sound unbelievable.” He chuckled. “As though anything I have told you sounds believable.” He paced back and forth across the length of the table. “After I share this final piece of information you will have one more chance to call it quits.” Glancing down the table making sure to make eye contact with every first year, he added. “Once you have been awakened the genes that control your ability to grow old will be neutralized. In other words. Once you reach physical maturity you will stop aging. You can still die, just the same as a human. You can still get sick, contract diseases and so on. Only difference is you will not age. Therefore, you will outlive everyone you know who is not a Humayre. That is of course if you are not killed first. Outliving everyone you hold dear is a great burden.”

Taking in all the blank expressions looking his way, Mr. Wetstone continued, “You may leave now if this is something you are not willing to suffer. There is no dishonor in leaving. But, if you still choose to go through with the Awakening you will be bound to this new world for life.” He stood up tall. “Now’s your time. If anyone has doubts please get up and head towards the front door. We will have someone on our staff take you home.” No one moved. They just sat staring. With a smile, he added,“Very good.”

The Great Hall erupted into applause.

“We have a good group here,” said Mr. Wetstone, loud enough for the whole Hall to hear. “First time we have ever had a group get all the way to the Awakening without losing at least one student.” He nodded to the first years and clapped. “Fantastic. So there we have it.” He smiled. “Eat hearty. It will be your last meal as a human. After you have finished we will have the Awakening.” Turning to face the back wall he held his hands up and clapped them together. The sound reverberated off the stone walls.

Two massive doors opened at the back of the hall. Men dressed in black waiter outfits streamed out of the room, each holding a huge silver platter filled with breakfast foods of all types. Pancakes, bacon, hash-browns, eggs, orange juice and fruit, never had Ronin seen so much food in one place.

Before Ronin knew it he had a plate full of pancakes, bacon, eggs and hash browns sitting before him. One of the servers stood staring at him with a large silver bowel balanced on his outstretched hand.

“Would you like some syrup?” asked the server.

“Yes please,” said Ronin.

The server ladled amber colored liquid all over Ronin’s pancakes. Grabbing the silver fork sitting to the right of his plate, Ronin dug in. The pancakes were moist, slightly chewy and fluffy. The syrup was rich and sweet. Lingering just under the maple goodness was a hint of salty butter. They were the best pancakes he’d ever eaten, even better than Mrs. Kinney’s. Not a big fan of bacon, Ronin pushed it off the plate onto his napkin.

“Would you like some turkey sausage instead?” asked the server, still holding the massive silver bowl full of maple syrup.

“No, I’m okay thank you.”

Kevin nudged Ronin, looked at his bacon and said, “You mind?”

Ronin shook his head.

Kevin grabbed the bacon and pilled it onto the bacon already on his plate.

Shoveling another fork full of fluffy pancake into his mouth Ronin looked for something to wash it down. Before he could even ask, the server who had been holding the silver bowl now had a pitcher of water and was filling Ronin’s crystal goblet.

“Fmphank you,” said Ronin, his mouth full of pancake.

The server nodded.

An hour passed. Ronin sat content in his chair, his stomach stuffed full of pancakes and hash browns. The servers finished cleaning the plates off the tables. They were so thorough it looked as though breakfast had never taken place. Not a single crumb could be found anywhere.

Leaning back, Ronin tried to relieve some of the pressure on the waist of his pants. They were his new BrightWood pants. He was also wearing the boots, socks, boxers and long sleeve shirt. They fit as though they were tailored to his exact dimensions. After thinking about it for a second, he realized he couldn’t remember the last time he was that happy.

The sound of rolling wheels on stone reverberated through The Great Hall. All eyes went to the back of the hall. Four men with dollies rolled a huge black contraption to the center of the room just behind the teachers table. They removed the dollies and rolled them out of the room. The teachers all stood up from their table. The four men came back and moved the table and chairs to the side of the room. Mr. Wetstone walked towards the podium with a purposeful look in his eyes.

The palms of Ronin’s hands slicked with sweat. He wiped them on his pants. He took a few deep breaths. The duct tape, he hadn’t removed it yet. He held his hands under the table and stared at his fingers. If he did it quickly maybe he could get it all off before The Awakening started.

“Okay first years,” said Mr Wetstone, leaning on the podium. “Everyone stand up please. It’s time for The Awakening.”

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