The Academy was very particular about dead Cadets. First of all, they weren't called dead, or martyrs for that matter. The Academy didn't like that sort of wording. The faith of Academy strictly forbade it.
That was one of the reasons funerals weren't held for Wyrmbound cadets, but there was another reason also. The Dragon blood was found in the veins, and veins were an extension of The Flame. Wyrmbounds were claimed by the Flame the moment that dragon blood flowed in their Veins. When a Wyrmbound died, no body was left of them, it vaporised into thin air. The blood reclaimed.
In place of Funerals it held Demonstrations. Show of faith to the ancient force with whom they had signed the lease for their soul.
Flora's name appeared on the morning register marked Inactive. There was no formal announcement, only one single line of text under the remarks column : Subject taken by Flame.
It had been three days at that point after Flora's passing.
Wanuy had comforted Arata for two days, trying to calm a soldier who was in grief but didn't know how to show it. The first Time Arata had lost someone in his life was his mom, but he was little he didn't remember anything. But now he was fully aware of a gaping hole in his chest, that was formed after the passing of Flora. Arata had stopped going to Cafeteria, Wanuy brought his food up to the Dormitory. Arata ate some, left some. He often didn't sleep the whole night, all he did was stare out the window.
On the third day Wanuy finally asked Arata "Why do you keep staring out all night, what purpose will it serve?"
Arata looked at him with eyes of a dead man, "I honestly don't know, just that the fog calms me down, the river too, with it's singing. I hope to see her walk out the woods all fine, as if nothing happened."
Wanuy had no words. Of all the people he knew, Arata was the last he expected to see broken like this. His grief was strange.
One afternoon, cadets were ordered to assemble in Chapel of the Resonant.
The chapel was vast, it was a cathedral of light and sound built at the heart of the Academy. Its walls were plated with runic metal that reflected every voice, turning whispers into choirs.
A great ring of red glass dominated the ceiling, and through the floor pulsed the faint glow of the Vein below, running straight through the altar.
Magister Kohler stood at the Central Altar ready to address both the First Year and Second Year Cadets. His robe shimmered faintly with energy, the sigil of the First Flame glowing across his chest. There was still some time left when Nebula entered the Chapel.
This was the first time Arata had seen her after Professor Neil's Class. She appeared like a blade ready to be drawn, immaculate uniform, black hair tied back, eyes dancing around constantly keeping the surroundings in check I t was as if she was ready for a war that could break out, at a moments notice.
She went and seated adjacent to the second years. Kohler looked at her and smiled acknowledging his Daughter.
"Cadets" he began, his voice gentle, almost fatherly. "Today we honor a student who gave herself fully to the Flame. Few are so blessed. Fewer still are remembered for it."
There was silence in the chapel. No one spoke at that moment. It was firs time several days after Flora's passing someone had mentioned her publicly. This was the first time. Everyone was afraid that mentioning her name would make the incident more real.
"She is not gone. The Flame does not take it reclaims. Every drop of her blood, every spark of her thought they have returned to the current. You should all learn from her example: to go without hesitation, to burn without fear."
At that point Arata remembered the eyes of Flora, the scared and fearful eyes of a usually cheerful girl.
The choir of priests behind Kohler responded, voices flat and harmonic: The Flame takes. The Flame gives. We serve so it may live.
Arata sat besides Wanuy, fists clenching, Anger rising from his core. The veins on his palm started to pulse violently, the priestess necklace started shining dimly.
They had not heard what he had heard from her mouth. The words filled with Fear, Anxiety, a mix of a 100 negative emotions - "It's learning how to use my mouth."
After a few moments the priests from the order of Flame ended their sermons, and cleared out of the chapel.
...
After that spectacle, Kohler started the Demonstration. He brought out a containment sphere, it was a glass orb filled with swirling red vapours and a faint glow. The hum it gave off was low but constant, like a heartbeat slowed by distance. It was the same red dust, Arata had encountered in the Veinworks. That was a part of the veins.
"Faith" Kohler said softly, "is not a concept. It is a force. It binds our will to the Flame's rhythm, it allows us to command what once destroyed us. You are powerful because The Flame exists."
"Cadet Nebula will now demonstrate our connection to the world's Rhythm via The Flame." Kohler said as he exited the Altar and Nebula stood up from her seat.
She stopped about two steps away from the sphere. Kohler gave the command, "Synchronise."
She closed her eyes. A soft tremor rippled through the room. The vapours inside the sphere began to swirl faster and then went faster still, until a miniature storm raged behind the glass. It felt like the Containment Sphere would break at any point.
Nebula didn't move from her position. Her breathing slowed down, it fell into a rhythm. It was calm, even and most importantly, matched the rhythm of the veins. Arata felt that through his right hand's palm.
A few seconds passed, and first speck of change was observed in the sphere. The storm slowly calmed down, the resonance aligned.
The resonance inside the sphere, which was raging before, slowly turned into the familiar hum of the veins and finally to a pitch just below hearing.... silence.
No cadet dare breathe, all holding their breath.
The objective of Demonstration was achieved there, the cadets again believed in the Flame and more importantly the methods of the Academy.
Faith was restored.
Arata looked to his side to find Wanuy looking at the sigil of the Flame on his robes.
"This" Kohler said breaking the silence, "is harmony. A soul that burns without asking questions. A vessel with perfect faith."
At that point Arata notice a very minute change in Nebula's expressions. It was disgust. he could pick that expression out in a crowd of a 100 emotions. His life had started with that expression.
Nebula was disgusted by The faith her father propagated.
Nebula opened her eyes. The vapour in the chamber was let go. it again floated about freely, pulsing slowly.
Kohler nodded once."Remember this. The Flame rewards those who submit."
After this he proceeded to exit the chapel. Most of the cadets followed suit including Nebula, who when exiting saw Arata still siting on his bench besides Wanuy. She just kept her head down and walked as if ashamed of what she had to just now.
"Come on Arata let's go.." Wanuy said jolting Arata out of his thoughts.
"You shold go ahead, I want to sit here just for a little longer."
"Fine, I am going with Flint and Sierra, to the cafeteria, I will keep your food in the dorm if you are late" anuy as he got up and followed the two other cadets.
Sierra looked at Arata with a look of sympathy as she followed the two boys out.
...
Arata couldn't move. Something about the silence that followed the demonstration made him sick to his stomach. The Faith of Flame wasn't about the admiration of an ancient force. It was about control. this was how the Academy controlled the cadets, the empire controlled it's population.
Lyra approached him quietly after the others dispersed. "You look pale? Unmoved by devotion?"
He met her gaze. "You call that devotion?"
"Of course. To surrender oneself entirely to the will of the Flame is the highest faith." Lyra said as she sat down next to him.
"Tell me you don't believe in the things you just said. I can clearly see on you face you don't"
Lyra didn't answer immediately. After a moment, when she spoke it was more to the empty hall than to him. "Both religions of the Rammasett Empire are built around the doctrine of control" she said. "That alone isn't the problem."
She looked at him then.
"The problem is that each defines control through a different foundation. The Night demands submission. The Flame demands obedience. The collision of those beliefs has created a system that no longer guides, it merely restrains."
Her voice hardened slightly. "And when faith becomes restraint, people don't grow closer to truth. They lose themselves to false prophets."
Arata answered after thinking, "And this is what Academy teaches. Not something it believes in, but instead Compliance."
"This is what the Empire survives on" she replied.
They both sat on the bench for along time until, Arata got up, "Want to see something?"
"What do you mean?"
Arata started walking towards the containment sphere, as he did he unravelled the bandages on his hand. The veins flowing from his fingers going to the palms and ending at the wrist pulsed with light.
"Arata what is that?" Lyra asked concerned as she got up and followed him. "Show that hand to me, you are infected."
"Calm down and just watch. I will show you something that will validate your point." Arata said as he touched the sphere with his hands.
The moment Arata's palm met the glass, the chapel changed. It wasn't loud, it wasn't violent.
The hum inside the containment sphere stuttered, as if it had lost the rhythm it was clinging to. The red vapours inside recoiled, pulling inward instead of swirling outward.
Lyra froze."Arata, remove your hand. Now."
Of course he didn't. The veins in his palm brightened, not red, but blue. A shade that didn't belong to the Flame's spectrum. It was the colour associated with change in the empire.
The light bent strangely, refusing to settle into harmony.The sphere began to crack. It wasn't instantaneous, the fractures slowly spread on the surface, there were fine spiderweb lines spreading across the glass, each one pulsing in irregular cadence. The vapour inside screamed it was not audible, but there was pressure, the resistance from Flame.
"This isn't resonance" Lyra whispered, horror creeping into her voice. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not doing anything" Arata said, teeth clenched. "I'm just… not obeying the damn thing."
The veins beneath his skin pulsed again. And something else answered.
For a heartbeat, the chapel lost its geometry. Sound folded in on itself. The runes along the walls flickered, symbols misaligned as if forgetting their purpose. The altar trembled, not from force, but from contradiction.
The sphere collapsed inward.
Glass imploded silently, vapour compressing into a dense knot before erupting outward in a shockwave of distorted light. The blast hurled Arata backward, slamming him into the stone floor as the chapel alarms screamed to life.
Lyra was already moving.
She grabbed Arata by the collar, dragging him up as the priests' wards flared uselessly around them.
"Run" she hissed. "Now."
They bolted. Arata was laughing the whole way out. Lyra ran holding his hand dragging him all the way.
They burst into the corridor just as the doors sealed shut behind them, heavy stone grinding into place.