◇ Empire's Most Wanted ◇ Prologue Part 2

Instructions

~ previously ~ The attack was sudden. Unexpected. . “Wait for us here” my mum says, desperation and fear lacing her voice. “Don’t come out for any reason. Please” . I start to fiddle with the necklace, nervousness overcoming all other emotions. What was happening? . ~ back to the story ~ “Illythia!” I turn and see Roygorn limping towards me. Relief floods me, seeing his familiar face. But concern quickly overtakes me as I notice his limp. I still didnt know what is going on. But I know that its bad. “You need to get out of here” he says to me, glancing over the rock. His pale grey scales looked darker from all the dirt. Looking like that he would never pass as a full blood Sgaithach like he did when he went to the Adhair academy. His father, Nàbaidh, is an Adhair. He could manipulate the air and wind. And he was very skilled at it too. His mother, Breagha, is a Dealanach. She could manipulate electricity. She was less skilled but was known for her kind heart and phenomenal baking. Roygorn had gotten his father’s abilities and his mother’s scales, like how I had my mother’s abilities and my father’s scales. With a bit of polishing, Roygorn’s scales match his ability, meaning he could pass as a pureblood Sgiathach instead of a hybrid Sgail as we were called. He applied to the Adhair academy under the pretence that he was a fullblood – hybrids have their own separate schools because we are considered outcasts and aren’t allowed to mingle with the fullbloods. For a long time he trained and studied in that academy. No one ever found out the truth until his graduation. He was the top student, so he was allowed to give a speech along with the other top Sgiathach of the other schools. Wanting to end the hatred against the Sgail, he told everyone the truth about what he was, hoping they would respect him since he was the top Adhair. Unfortunately, that was not the case. They kicked him back to the Sgail sector. He had felt defeated at first. Not that he would admit it. But everyone could tell. But although he felt that he had failed, we all admired him for his bravery in trying to gain respect for us. His parents were a little disappointed that he hadn’t lived the normal life he could have had, but he seemed much happier with the truth out. All the lying had really stressed him out. Instead he decided to become a teacher at the Sgail academy. The youngest, but the very best. “I’m waiting for my parents” I say to him, looking over the rock at the Ionnsaighian invaders in the distance as they slash through the melting rocks. “They told me to wait here until they come back” Roygorn grabs my arm “The other sectors aren’t coming to help; you need to hide somewhere safer.” As if to prove his point, a jet of blue slime shoots through the air straight at us. Roygorn thrusts his hands forward and the blue slime careens off to the left, splatting on a nearby rock. It sizzles as it melts the rock like butter. I don’t protest as Roygorn pulls me deeper into the rock forest. I feel bad for leaving when my parents told me to stay, but I have Roygorn now. The company was nice and it didn’t feel safe in the shelter anymore. We weave through the jagged formations, ducking low to avoid being hit by the blasts. High above us I see a mix of red, blue, black, white and yellow scales as our people try to fight back against the pods that are shooting. A deadly dance in the sky. Beautiful, if it weren’t for the destruction. So many get shot down by many different weapons, designed specifically for each element type. They had obviously been planning this invasion for a long time. Maybe this is what my parents were talking about a few nights ago when they said something about ‘tensions’. I hadn’t thought anything of it. Maybe I should have.