THE VOID

CHAPTER 4: THE CHIEF AND THE COMBATANT

GLOSSARY:

Estion: Nitronia's term for a city

Crysalite: A crystal-like piece of rock

POV: DAVE PANDIMUR

LOCATION: NITRONIA

ESTION: KHYPTOPOLIS (THE CAPITAL)

“I’M NEVER HIKING FRIGUS PEAK EVER AGAIN!” DAVE GROANED AS HE MASSAGED HIS SORE MUSCLES

Dave Pandimur. A pale-skinned man about five foot ten with lean body structure is outlined by his body-hugging rustic brown shirt and midnight black tights under the lightweight aluminum faulds. Dave has a chiseled face, snow-colored slicked-back undercut hair, rounded eyebrows, close-set teal-colored eyes, a straight nose, wide lips, and mildly calloused yet delicate hands. An apprentice in training under the supervision of the Supreme Frost Nathania, often called Dave, is always considered general by the public out of reverence.

Nathania, the Supreme Frost, recently initiated the Elite Program and coincidentally, but unsurprisingly, made Dave the leader. What was surprising to him was Nathania only selected four frosts, apprentices as how he would call them, to undergo the Elite Program. Were we the only ones qualified? Dave thought. Dave did not protest as he knew what he was capable of. However, hiking Frigus Peak broke Dave’s physical tenacity as of late. Frigus Peak was the tallest mountain near Khyptopolis. Anyone who ascends toward the peak is bound to experience one of the harshest blizzards. That’s not the fun part. The catch was as the four of the apprentices climbed up, they were to avoid the attacks thrown by the Supreme Frost.

“He’s a monster! Good. But still a monster,” Dave said as he cracked his neck while setting his staff down. His staff was made of metal, had a blade protruding on its lower end, and a big levitating Crysalite inside the three surrounding prongs on its upper end.

He lay down as the fatigue continued to course through his body. Turning his head to the right, he sees that the sun is halfway through reaching its zenith. Nitronia did not have clocks. Frosts only rely on the rising and the setting of the sun and the moon. Dave looked to the left and stared at the Crysalite of his staff. It always leaves him wondering how this weapon existed. It was only handed down to him and it was rumored that only the Pandimur discovered the Crysalite. Crysalites are the planet’s “fruit” created in the core through ammonium nitrate synthesis and are found abundantly under Nitronia’s highlands where the estion of Kiresiln stands. Their uses range from being harmless ornaments found in home decorations to being the planet’s highest form of currency, to being accessory add-ons found in necklaces, rings, gauntlets, and pauldrons, to being smelted and forged into blades, to being infused into concentrated power cells found in military grade arsenals, and to being engineered as highly radioactive reactor cores to power huge types of machinery or even an entire estion. It depends on whose hands manipulate the potential of the planet’s fruit.

Suddenly three knocks on Dave’s window sounded. Dave groans as muscle pain courses throughout his body and he begins to move out of bed in response. After what seemed like a painstaking effort to drag himself toward the window, Dave lifted the lock. On the other side of the window stands a distinguished man with a mature salt and pepper bearded face wearing a cyan-plated light armor carrying a huge collapsible five-prong trident.

Dave pauses as he sees the man and then sighs deeply. “Triton.”

Triton slowly nods his head in response then retracts his trident into a palm-sized metal bar.

“Let me guess,” Dave says as he leans on his window sill, talking to Triton. “Nathania’s expecting us at the training grounds in less than an hour and we have some rigorous training in store for us?“

Triton stayed silent for quite a while then smirked at Dave while shaking his head. “As a matter of fact, he is expecting you and the others. But not at the training grounds.” He said as he handed Dave Nitronia’s emblem.

Dave looked at the emblem with confusion, then back at Triton. “Is that it?” He asked.

Triton nods then turns around. “See you at the HQ, Pandimur. Don’t be late.”

Dave’s gaze transfixed on the old man until he vanished in the distance. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I’m not dreaming, am I?” He whispered to himself.

A smile slowly forms on the young frost’s face as realization sinks in. He chuckles while stretching the fatigue away from his body. Adrenaline rushes through as thoughts of things Dave could do on a day off of training.

“I’ll take it.” Dave smiled as he entered the bathroom to freshen up in preparation for a good day.

POV: SHIELA REKLEVAR

LOCATION: NITRONIA

ESTION: KHYPTOPOLIS (THE CAPITAL)

TO BE SUMMONED BY SUPREME FROST NATHANIA OTHER THAN TRAINING IS A NEW CHANGE OF PACE. Nathania would usually ring a high-frequency sound that would signal the start of the Elite Program Training. Today must be different.

Shiela Reklevar, a tawny-brown with coral undertone-skinned woman who is about five-foot-eight, is the descendant of the most fearsome family known to Nitronia – the Reklevar. The family is often known as the frontlines in the thick of wars and skirmishes. They are regarded as the specialists in combat who raise the morale of their troops so that they will be brought victory no matter what the cost. The only cost they consider when leading wars is either the death of a Reklevar or being incapacitated. They value their troops so much that they are more than willing to sacrifice their own lives as they bring them victory.

As of late, rebel activities have been increasing, rising to more than the tolerable threshold, and have been causing trouble around the borders of the capital estion, Khyptopolis. These rebels, more so often called "The Renegades", were once citizens of every estion in Nitronia but have revolted against the Supreme Frost as an open declaration of their disagreement on the estion’s laws and ordinances. Some of them just want to evade paying their taxes. With this, the Supreme Frost Nathania announced an open invitation to the Elite Program. The Elite Program has two stages of screening. The first step, as how Nathania would like to call it, is called Filter. All who were invited were subjected to extreme tasks to test physical tenacity, mental fortitude, emotional discipline, wit, and judgment. The second step is Selection. Those who pass the first step will be subjected to the gruesome step in the program. Tested in terms of war tactics, one-on-one combat, self-sustenance and protection, and adaptability. The latest test they underwent was climbing Mt. Frigus with Nathania controlling weather conditions to the extreme and him attacking at the same time.

Shiela waits at the foot of a massive building, sitting on an iron bench while eyeing the ancient symbols engraved on the hilts of her weapons - her twin axes which she named "Slayers." The history of her axes remains a mystery as they were only handed down to her through the best fighters known in each generation of her family. The last one was her father - Gavin Reklevar. Ever since they were given to Shiela, the family holds her in high regard. She was trained thoroughly since she was a child, especially on survival and instincts. Shiela not only holds expertise in combat, but she also grew a liking to history and archaeology up to the point where she collected artifacts she found deep in the mountains. Most of them with historical relevance and some imbued with mystery.

Looking at the icy blue sky while breathing in the cold air, the young Elite wonders what happens inside the neighboring planets. Sometimes, Pyreon can be seen on a clear night sky as a small glowing yellow ball with ethereal lights occurring at its poles. On the other hand, Blimork will always be visible and will always appear as the pulsating blood-red ball with numerous satellites and space stations revolving around it.

"Shiela!" a man's voice calls out.

She looks down from the sky and sees Dave waving and smiling while jogging towards her from a distance - looking happier compared to any day. Probably because of the good news everyone received - a day with no training. Shiela and Dave were always a duo recognized as an unstoppable force when paired up together. But when it comes to Dave, she considers him as her rival. Dave not only strives to be the best but also, he pushes himself beyond his limits to learn various techniques even their generals consider difficult to master and execute.

“Someone's pretty happy today,” Shiela remarked.

“Yeah, I am," Dave said between breaths as he came to a stop in front of her. "Finally, I can rest.” He added while sitting down next to me.

Shiela chuckled. “You need to chill out sometimes, Dave.”

Dave shook his head. “No can do, warrior princess." He expressed. "Not when you're around. You're my rival, remember?"

“Well, yeah!” Shiela exclaimed. "In a good way at least," she said as she crossed her arms.

Shiela eyed Dave's staff strapped to his back. She has always seen him wield such intricate weapon, using it as a catalyst to wield his powers. However, one thing perplexes Shiela, the one big Crysalite inside the staff's prongs. It doesn't just sit inside the prongs, but it hovers. If one would look closely, the Crysalite faintly glows or pulsates light.

"Hey, Dave," Shiela spoke.

Dave looked at her and raised his eyebrow. "Something on your mind?"

"Have you ever wondered what kind of Crysalite that is? The one inside your staff?" Sheila asked.

Dave looks at the hovering Crysalite inside the prongs of his weapon. He sighed as he unslung his weapon from his back. "To be honest. This one remains a mystery for me." He replied. "It has only been handed down through generations - similar to how you got your Twin Slayers. Never have I been told why it was handed down."

He looks at his weapon and stares at it for a while. "I guess time will tell," Dave remarked.

Shiela looked at Dave momentarily, looked down at her own hands, shook her head, and smiled.

“You know what?” Shiela asked.

Dave looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Shiela slapped Dave’s back sharply in a playful way. Dave arched his back in pain as he staggered forward from the bench.

“What was that for?!” Dave demanded.

Shiela stood up and gave Dave a hearty laugh. “That’s why we're rivals, Pandimur.” She said as she began walking towards the massive building they call – HQ with Dave picking himself up in the process and then trailing behind her.