The Crimson Prince： Awakening

He went behind his desk once again, but this time, he placed his hand on a panel which Will recognized instantly as an aura panel. A red glow shone within Roland"s hand, and a resounding click could be heard through the large lobby. A large door appeared which wasn"t there prior, right next to the desk he stood behind. "As you can see, the tower security will only allow wielders to enter, unless a wielder escorts one without the gift."

Roland entered the door and gestured for them to follow. When Will and Maya entered behind the group, they entered into a large open area. He looked around and his eyes went wide.

He could see at least twenty floors up. Where his eyes landed, there were at least a hundred wielders with blaze red auras practicing aerial drills over a gra.s.sy outcrop with what looked like a small wood line.

"We took a page from how you learned to fly, Prince Ragnos." Roland said with a smirk. "What you are seeing is the fire aura training grounds." He gestured towards the trees. "Within the wooded area, there"s at least ten combat arenas in order for the initiates to hone their skills. There"s room for at least three hundred trainees in this room to move freely."

Roland pointed to the walls around the facility. "Each initiate needs to learn how to fly within the first month. Until then," he pointed at ropes which hung down neatly over ledges. Will looked closer and saw orderly doors lining the walls on the upper floor. "They have to climb to their rooms."

"What about their ability to hold the aura?" Will asked casually. "I had to meditate daily along with my workouts in order to manifest the flame." He shrugged his shoulder. "Even then, the flame was like a muscle I had to exercise hourly."

"Each room has a meditation room." Roland said. "The rooms are made out of the same material that the affinity crystals are made from, so they won"t burn up. You have one too." He walked to the wall to his left and placed his hand on another panel. "If you all will follow me this way, we will continue the tour." He turned and walked through the next doorway that opened behind him.

"This reminds me of an intern tour for one of the multi-billion corporations from my world." Will whispered in Maya"s ear. She rolled her eyes and continued walking with the rest of the group. "Tough crowd." Will smiled as he followed her through the door.

Will was once again taken aback as he walked into a s.p.a.cious room which reminded him of a college dining facility, only a hundred times larger. "Welcome to the dining lounge." Roland smiled as he took in the astonished expressions.

They walked past a large pond which had a waterfall splashing down, yet when Will looked up, he only saw a stone as the source of water. Tens of tables surrounded the pond, only a few were occupied by initiates who either conversed with each other, or studied while they ate. "As you can see, this location is for nothing but relaxation. There are many different food outlets within the court, as well as many different environments."

Roland walked them through many of the different locations of the dining facility. Will saw many other ponds with stone producing water. Though there were also locations which had sandy surfaces with rock formations that had students who balanced one legged on very thin rocks, giving Will a nostalgic look. He remembered when Michael had him train the same way. He remembered balancing on a rock himself for hours. If he slipped, he had to start over again. The longer it took him, the longer it took before he could eat. Somehow, Will knew by the looks on the students faces, that his uncle set up the dining facility. He noticed one man staring longingly at a couple who were eating by a fountain.

When they entered the next room, Will didn"t even have to guess what laid beyond the door. He saw a quarter mile track of gra.s.sy terrain. He could see a few students running the track with bands on both their arms and legs. "How much weight is on each of those bands?" Will asked Roland as he finished his explanation.

"Michael ensured that the bands could be adjusted to any weights." Roland smiled while looking at one of the students. "This one is promising though."

"Oh?"

"He is supporting at least a hundred twenty pounds only on his second week of being a wielder." Roland gave a knowing smile to his prince.

Will whistled. "That was week three for me." He was once again captured by memory. "You should have seen me when I ran my uncle"s property in my world."

"I wish I were there." Maya said simply with a wry smile. Will knew what she was thinking. He put an arm around her as he too remembered why she wasn"t present. It was one of the reasons he had taken the mantle of the Crimson Prince.

Roland continued the tour, and answered Will"s curiosity. He had wondered how exactly the other wielders besides the ones who could fly could get to their own training facilities. He knew from Jonathan and Michael that water and earth wielders couldn"t fly. Roland had placed his hand on yet another panel and another door appeared. A room large enough to contain the full group lay on the other side. When the last one entered, the door closed behind them and a feeling of raising began at Will"s feet. "You guys figured out how elevators work?"

"Leo figured it out with earth aura crystals." Roland said matter of factly.

In moments, the feeling of rising ended and the door opened again. "Maybe you"ll figure out elevator music next." Will chuckled as they left.

They walked through rooms of complete water, almost like a floor length pool. Will could see wielders at the bottom of the pools, yet they weren"t swimming. Instead, it looked more like they were conversing. The ones who were swimming could only be seen as blurs, since the speed they were moving at was much more fast than the eye could see.

The group moved from the water area, past a few who were shaping weapons out of ice, much the same as he remembered his uncle doing during the war on Aremesis.

With another elevator ride, they moved onto the earth wielder training area. Will looked on as a few wielders held stones, shaping them into other weapons. Others seemed to zoom around at speeds that could only be accomplished with both feet on the ground. Will watched as one propelled rocks within his hand towards a blindfolded girl, who with a few swift movements, grabbed each stone with the precision of a doctor, out of the air before they could hit her.

Some were underground somehow. Will could feel vibrations beneath his feet as he could only come to the conclusion that a student was somehow burrowing underneath him. He could only guess just how thick the ground was under him, or where within this floor the earth wielder"s homes were.

Another elevator led them to the light wielder"s quarters, which consisted of only Bianca. "We would introduce you to the only priest aura wielder, but right now she is exploring Crystallia with a Lieutenant Roy from the Royal Flame Crusade." Roland explained while opening the next elevator.

The next room blew. Literally. The moment the elevator opened, the small room was buffeted by wind. They walked out to stand on what looked like an open platform. "This is the wind aura wielder living quarters!" Roland said loudly through the gusts of wind. "Unless you have the affinity, you won"t be able to see what happens in this room!"

Will knew what he was saying. He saw small blurs of movement through the air and he knew they weren"t alone within the chamber. He could hear the clank of sword against sword, a few sparks here and there as if lightning flashed around them.

Will turned to the large group of men and women who were looking around the windswept room in awe. "I hope that soon some of you might be able to see the fierce wielders who are training relentlessly even now in this room." He said quietly, yet his voice carried within the room, as if the wind were bending to carry his word into each ear. With each ear that his words. .h.i.t, the owner glowed with their each individual aura. "Welcome to the Royal Flame Crusade."