The classroom, adorned with intricate carvings and vibrant tapestries, was abuzz with an air of anticipation. Fifteen- and sixteen-year-old students, clad in their finest attire, sat poised in their chairs, their eyes fixed intently on their teacher, Mrs. Elara. The soft glow of luminescent orbs, suspended from the ceiling, cast a warm, ethereal light upon the assembly, imbuing the atmosphere with a sense of reverence.
Mrs. Elara, a statuesque woman with piercing emerald eyes and raven-black hair, stood tall, surveying her students with an air of quiet authority. Her voice, low and melodious, commanded attention as she spoke.
"As you are all aware, today marks the final day of our academic year. It is a day of great significance, for it heralds the beginning of the trials – a series of challenges designed to test your mettle, to push you to the very limits of your endurance, and to prove your worth as members of Clan Dawn."
As she spoke, Mrs. Elara's gaze swept across the room, her eyes lingering on each student in turn. Her expression was stern, yet not unkind, for she knew that the trials would be a crucible, one that would temper and refine her students, preparing them for the challenges that lay ahead.
"The trials will not be easy," she continued, her voice unwavering. "They will demand from you courage, cunning, and strength. But I have every confidence that each and every one of you will rise to the challenge, for you have been blessed with the privilege of being born into Clan Dawn – a clan renowned for its bravery, its honor, and its unwavering commitment to excellence."
As Mrs. Elara spoke, her eyes seemed to bore into the very souls of her students, as if daring them to falter, to fail. Her lips, painted a deep crimson, curled upward in a faint, enigmatic smile, a smile that seemed to hint at secrets and mysteries beyond the comprehension of her young charges.
"Failure, I must warn you, is not an option," she said, her voice dripping with an unspoken menace. "For to fail is to bring shame upon yourself, upon your family, and upon Clan Dawn itself. And I fear that none of you would wish to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, to bear the weight of ignominy and disgrace."
As Mrs. Elara finished speaking, her gaze settled upon a lone figure, seated at the rear of the classroom. The boy, with his striking features and unconventional hairstyle, his hair fell down to his neck, with two bangs forming an X shape on the front of his forehead ending on either side of his nose, his hair was scarlet red in color, the way his shirt was untucked from his trouser and his posture of sitting seemed to embody the very essence of rebellion, of nonconformity. His eyes, a deep, burning scarlet, flashed with anger, with resentment, as he returned Mrs. Elara's gaze, his jaw set in a determined line.
The classroom, as if sensing the tension, seemed to hold its collective breath. The air was heavy with anticipation, with expectation, as the students waited, their eyes fixed upon the boy, for his response, for his reaction.
For a moment, the boy simply sat, his eyes blazing with a fierce, inner light. Then, as if the weight of the world had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders, he spoke, his voice low, husky, and laced with a subtle, mocking humor.
"'Damn you all," he muttered, the words barely audible, yet freighted with a depth of emotion, of feeling, that was impossible to ignore.
The classroom erupted into a cacophony of sound, as the students, released from their suspenseful vigil, burst into laughter, into mockery, and into derision. The boy, his face twisted in a scowl, his eyes flashing with anger, seemed to bear the brunt of their ridicule, their scorn.
Yet, despite the hail of laughter, of mockery, that assailed him, the boy refused to yield, refused to back down. His eyes, burning with a fierce, unyielding passion, seemed to challenge the very fabric of the classroom, to defy the conventions, the expectations, that had been imposed upon him. He grashed his teeth in anger. 'all of you are back-stabbing bitches' the boy thought in anger as he recalled his past.
To truly understand we have to start from the beginning.
(A large info dump try not to fill overwhelmed)
Clan Dawn was a small clan, which were forced to leave their home after the ambush from their rival clan, which has been eyeing them. Together with another clan, led to waste clan Dawn forcing the remaining survivors to flee and on their way stumbled on this low-level shelter which was besieged by the stains. After taking care of the stains they decided to stay there and rebuild their clan, but after a hundred years the clan instead of enlarging whithered because the clan lost their foundation and the people who went to the trials never came back thus reducing the power of clan Dawn.
After hundred years a boy was born, with a tattoo of two wing which seems to have been clipped off leaving only the base, the clan elders were overjoyed because of two reasons.
One, the boy had the tattoo of two wings as all clan members had one or no wings at all, and in all the history of clan Dawn only the clan leaders has ever been noted to have have two wings, the birth of this child was the hope they desperately needed . Why because, when a member of clan Dawn is born depending on the location of his wings detamined the power they would get, if he was to awaken on his left wing he would gained the power of enhanced intelligence which was the criteria for teaching in the shelter's only school, and likewise on the right he would gain the power of enhanced strength and the ability to converse with flame making them the best for black smitting. Mind you no normal person has ever had powers without having survived the trials, this was the reason the clan was targeted as they were the only humans to gain power without going through the trials.
Second, the clan head, father of the boy was sick and the next stain attack was imminent and without the clan leader the shelter was doomed to fall, the mother of the child carried the child for three years, carrying a child for more than ten months was strange leading them to check if the child was healthy and after numerous test he was discovered healthy, too healthy in fact. It was later discovered that the child was feeding on the life force of the mother making her weaker as the day goes by after numerous attempts to persuade the mother to abort the child she remained stead fast not giving up on the child then after three years she gave birth but at the expense of her life. The husband after hearing the news was quick to name him Raphael before joining his wife. Raphael was the name given to all the clan leaders as they held the key to the revival of the clan.
At the age of three Raphael began training and he showed great talent for battle that it was even unusual but everyone brushed it up to his tattoo say "as expected of the one who will lead our clan to glory". But that all changed in an instant.
At the age of five Raphael was taken to the clan ritual ground to check the potency of his ability, but the results shocked the whole clan and even the villagers who were clueless about the clan noticed the way Raphael was now being treated. Raphael results came out as impotent meaning his tattoo was a waste and he didn't have any abilities.The elders were devastated looking for ways to awaken his ability but failed. Four years ago a girl was born and as soon as Raphael failed to awaken his abilities the young girl a year younger than him awaken the fabled twin wings same as him but at the same time different cause he was now labeled a fallen prodigy. So the clan immediately poured their attention in her.
Raphael was gradually neglected, after a year she was now five years and under the heated breaths of her clansmen she awaken her ability and it's potency was double that of the previous clan head, that was not all Raphael was directly relieved of the name / title :Raphael, and it was invoked on the girl her former name forgotten.
As it was a sacrilege to name yourself or for someone to name you without the consent of your parents, so that was how Raphael now became nameless, and what led to his current predicament.
Thinking of how he was treated previously compared to now his heart burned brightly in anger, ' Damn, you all are animals' Eclipse thought in his heart. Yes Eclipse, that was the name he gave himself but considering his current position no one cared about him, thinking about the negligence he nearly got up and attacked someone close to him like a rabid animal, but he ultimately held himself back because the last time he did, things didn't go well. In an entire row he was the only one, a testament of his past behavior.
But the thought which stroked his anger more was, " damn it at this rate I won't even get married." Eclipse thought in his mind, looking at the the smile on Mrs. Elara face he thought of a way to humiliate her.
Mrs. Elara turned to the board while thinking in her heart. 'He didn't retort, weird but that can't stop me from making him repeat this class, first elder gave me a mission and I must complete it no matter what'. Her thought process came to a halt as she heard a voice her face bloomed into a smile but froze as she took in the words of the voice
Turning back she asked with a strained smile. "What was that I didn't quite catch it".
Eclipse gave her a look that screemed 'are you deaf or something'. Shrugging his shoulders he put his hand on the back of his head leaning back as he responded. " I asked what about you, you spoke of passing the trials, but had you pass the trials".
Listening to his condensing tone, she spoke in an uneasy tone. "I wasn't contacted by the dairy."
"So it seems the dairy found you useless, but who are you to blame the only thing you are good at, is at licking the feet of the elders and being submissive as a dog. No at least dogs are loyal unlike a certain someone."