The World Time Has Forgotten

Unrest

1

Time is a tricky thing. It slips by unnoticed until you look back and realize turns have passed. SoYa was so busy for so long, it caught up with him all at once, when he saw KiNa and ShiKon walking back from completing their latest mission.

Instead of the freckly faced boy that SoYa caught pickpocketing him long ago, he saw a young man, returning to the base with the air of victory about him. Even the childish freckles were fading. Or maybe they had been fading for a while and SoYa just never noticed.

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2

“I have a surprise for you, KiNa,” ChiMei told him as she tugged on his arm, leading him into a more secluded area. Away from the base and into the tree-lined luv glade.

That was the name that they gave the place. Now that most of them were teens, or budding teens, there had to be a designated date-place, away from the eyes of everyone else. Even though Master SoYa knew about it, he was polite enough to give them room as long as they followed basic rules of decency.

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3

Though the Zemidragon appeared to be asleep, SoYa knew that the Arweinydd didn’t require rest like his people. Earthians. That’s what Zemi called them, though SoYa wasn’t sure what the term meant or where it came from. In fact, he was still fairly unsure of what Arweinydd were and where they came from, too.

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4

Hunt could have face-planted KiNa during sparring practice a hundred times over and the boy probably wouldn’t have even noticed. Much to the ire of his trainer, KiNa’s mind was stuck on what happened the day before and what he needed to do now.

I wonder what ShiKon likes to do. If she has favorite food. A favorite color?

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5

FuSoYa cursed under his breath as his foot skidded off the slippery rock and sank him calf-high in the waters of the rushing river. Holding the pack above his head, far out of the water’s reach, he didn’t have a free hand to hoist up his robes before they, too, became soaked and heavy around his ankles.

I knew this was foolish.

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6

“Master SoYa,” KiNa popped his head in the study with an abashed look, “I’m really sorry to bother you, but this is an emergency.”

Only a few small crystals lit the far end of the room with just enough light for SoYa to translate by. He wasn’t really having a lot of luck that evening, so it wasn’t a bother to be interrupted. In fact, he welcomed the chance to step away from the confusing jumble of old language for a little while. The idea of the emergency, however, wasn’t so welcome.

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7

ShiKon cast a worried look at Master SoYa as she brought him his afternoon tea. She’d never seen him look so dispirited before, the lines under his sorrowful eyes more apparent than ever. The girl stirred his tea and placed it on the table in front of him, but he didn’t seem to notice.

He was staring out the window, listening to something that she couldn’t hear.

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8

Light dappled in a shimmering flow up from the green face of the floating island under SoYa’s feet. Candy-colored clouds skimmed through the sky, leaving trails of breezy wake behind them. The air was warm here, warmer than it was in the waking world. In dreams, weather changed only with the mind of the dreamer.

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