Cloud Shifters
Chapter 4: Path Choice

Lunch and the remainder of the tour went by without anything nearly as exciting as the gym experience. Cadin did not get a chance to talk to Lep about what he overheard in the gym. When they got back to the Dragon’s Den, Lep and Cadin sat next to each other; however, now they were also joined by Vincent, Xeno, and Treven.

“Everyone, quiet down,” Instructor Kade said. “We don’t have time left for a full lesson today, so for the rest of the afternoon, we will talk a little about why we are here and what is expected of a Glade Commons’ student.

“First, I have an addition to your school attire that you must wear every day to symbolize your achievements within the school.” Instructor Kade pulled out a box that smelled of new leather. Cadin tried to crane his head over the girl in front of him to see what was inside.

“These are your school arm-guards and they should be worn with pride.” Instructor Kade reached in pulled out a leather version of the arm-guards that Talvarian crafted. Instructor Kade started handing them out to the people in the front of each row and having them pass the rest back. Cadin felt the new and very stiff leather between his fingers and tried it on his right arm. It felt boxy and foreign.

“Note a couple of things about your arm-guard. First, they are adjustable and should fit you throughout your time here. Most students prefer to wear them on their non-dominant arm. It is up to you which you prefer. Secondly, there are three rows of parallel holes running the length of it. These are for your badges that will be melded to your arm-guard once you have earned them.”

Cadin quickly switched the arm-guard from his left to his right and then ran his fingers over the holes, imagining metal badges covering the empty spaces.

“Yes, Lexi?”

“I have seen some of the older students with different colored badges on their arm-guards. What do the colors signify?”

“Good question. This leads into our next topic—Path choice. In Court Middle School, you only learned the basics. Here in Commons High School you will see a divergence in topics and by the end of your first year you will have chosen a Path to specialize in. Do not worry, this is not a firm choice and can be changed throughout your years here.

“There are five Paths for you to choose from. The Path with the narrowest focus is the Guardian Path which features green badges. This is for those of you wanting to become Guardian Angels and travel to Earth and maintain Human to Angel relations. This Path is not often selected because it limits your future education and career options. If you want to know more about the Guardian Path, there is an information seminar at the beginning of each semester. The first is this Friday in the Library.

“The next is the Academic Path, which has blue-colored metal badges. This Path choice will move you towards a career in teaching, researching, healing, politics, and so on. If you graduate through the Academic Path, you will have an opportunity to continue your training at an appropriate University on the Central Cloud.

“The Trade Path is a good one if you like to do things with your hands, like build cloud-structures or make armor. If you have your mind set on any business venture, such as opening your own shop, this is the Path choice to consider. There are many different trades, and there are small Trade Schools throughout the cloud-lands for each subject. Many people earn a living through the trades. Trade Path badges are yellow in color.

“The next, which was my Path of choice, is the Warrior Path. You will learn about weapons, strategy, and replaceing your true strength. This one is not for the faint of heart. You will be tested, challenged, and one day put in a position to fight for your friends, family and our way of life.”

Instructor Kade’s eyes danced with passion, and Cadin finally released the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

“The Warrior Path badges are red. This Path will lead you into the Academies on Central Cloud. There are many career choices through the Core for all Path choices, though by far the most are offered through the Warrior Path.

“The last choice is the General Path. This is a bit of a catch-all and the default for those of you who don’t choose your own Path by the end of your first year. It is the broadest and allows you to graduate with your classes spread out between all of the other Paths.”

Sounds great. He did replace all the Paths interesting. Why not spread it all out?

As if in answer to his thought, Instructor Kade continued. “I would like to add a warning about the General Path choice. Sometimes it is more difficult to be accepted into a secondary educational establishment. You are usually only considered after having completed the specialized Paths which feed into the Universities, or Academies.”

Maybe not.

“There are minimum requirements for you to graduate. Some badges are required for everyone—these are silver bordered and spread throughout skills from the different Paths. In general, you will want to choose at least one class from each Path per quarter, and attempt to earn the appropriate badges. Each Path has their own requirements that you must meet.

“There are System-wide Games associated with each Path that you can enter the Qualifiers for in your third and fourth year. These Games alternate which years they are held —this year we are holding the Qualifiers for Academic and Trade Path Games. They are excellent challenges for you that can lead to acceptance and even scholarships after you graduate.”

“But we have to wait until our third year?” One of the boys from behind Cadin asked.

"Yes. First you must earn a certain number of badges to establish eligibility before you can register for the intra-school Qualifiers the following year. If you or your team qualifies, you earn the right to compete in the Calvarian Games held each summer for alternating Paths. It is a trying process, and you must be properly prepared before entering. The Games are not easy; and although safety is a top priority, the Qualifiers are no place for someone who lacks the requisite skills. That is why you should all look at the offered classes and choose your schedules wisely.”

Instructor Kade stood up to flex his wings. “I would also like you to keep in mind that you will have a personal advantage if you schedule your most difficult classes sometime after Winter Break. Does anyone know what I am referring to?”

“Because of Auras,” a large, dark headed boy answered after Instructor Kade nodded to him.

“Yes, exactly,” Instructor Kade said, his green Aura flaring. “As angels, we each have our own individual strengths and weaknesses. The cloud-land you grow up on has a large influence over which strengths you develop the most. When your inner power reaches a point, your physical body can no longer contain it, that power expands beyond the surface and manifests as your Aura.

“The color of your Aura reflects your inner power. Does anyone know the common Aura colors and strengths and which Quads within the Calvarian Cloud System they are most often associated with? Cadin,” Instructor Kade said with a wry smile.

Cadin was relieved that he got chosen to answer this question, since Instructor Nightan had covered this lesson first. “White, red, yellow, blue and green. White Auras are common and develop in every Quad. They kinda have well-rounded strengths. Red Aura angels come from the Contra Quad and are really strong and have awesome endurance,” Cadin said as he looked to Instructor Kade for approval. He gave a positive nod, and Cadin gained confidence. He saw that he had the whole class’ attention, and turned to face everyone before he continued.

“Angels with yellow Auras come from the Lavine Quad and have good accuracy and preclusion,” Cadin said quickly, and only paused when Instructor Kade corrected him by whispering “precision.” “Yes, precision.” Now all the students were hanging on his every word.

Cadin took a deep breath and continued. “Blue Aura angels are amazing and come from the Arkta Quad. They are wickedly fast and agile. They are also really good with strategies, like figuring out how things will work best in a battle. And last, but not least,” Cadin said with a smile, receiving a cheer from his fellow students, “the green Aura angels from the Guard Quad!” A loud cheer erupted from his classmates while Cadin paused dramatically. “Green Aura angels are incredibly strong,” another cheer, “and have amazing resistance.”

The class broke out into general discussions about Auras and colors for a few minutes until Instructor Kade took control again.

“Those were all descriptive fighting qualities, however, keep in mind that Aura enhancements span across all skills and Paths. For instance, blue Aura angels are good in strategy games like cloud-chess. However, just because someone has a certain color Aura that may give them an innate edge in something, it doesn’t mean you can’t train hard to be better than that person. An example is the highest ranked cloud-chess player in the entire System is currently Reina of Carta who has a white Aura, though the second, third and fourth ranked players all have blue Auras.

“I use the term ‘Aura’ as if you all already have one, which is only partially true. Your Aura has been developing your entire life and is already a part of you that is simply not visible yet. This is the year that all of you should get your Auras because of your age and the added studying and training you will do here at the Glade Commons School. Once your Auras shine through, your overall strength in all areas will increase, and nearly double in the Aura color specific areas.

Cadin was lost in thought. Is it true my Aura is already there inside of me, waiting to get out? He thought that it probably was, and it made a lot more sense than one day a certain color just springing up out of nowhere that stuck with you the rest of your life. He mentally went over his natural strengths and weaknesses.

“Wow, that was a cool first day,” Lep said excitedly as he and Cadin walked home. “I can’t believe you fell off the balcony; it looked like it really hurt.”

“I didn’t fall; I just pretended so that I could see what it felt like.” Cadin saw the stunned look and Lep’s face and added, “It was actually fun. Though it did hurt.”

Cadin could tell that Lep was horrified at the idea that Cadin would so deliberately break the rules just to see what it felt like to fall twenty feet into an unknown pit. Lep had stopped walking and Cadin stopped with him and was slightly amused by his friend’s consternation.

“But what if you had gotten caught and kicked out of school?” Lep asked, his brow furrowing. Before he could answer, Lep continued, “and I thought it was so lucky that you got switched into the same class that I was in—but it will all be for nothing if you have to leave because you do something stupid!”

“Look, it is not that big of a deal,” Cadin said to Lep who was facing him with a red face under his blond hair. His eyes reflected the clouds and Cadin found it difficult to look at him face to face. Casting his glance down, he continued trying to defend himself, “and Instructor Kade knew that I did it on purpose and I didn’t even get in trouble.”

Lep looked a little taken aback, but didn’t say anything. Cadin thought about telling him everything he had overheard in the gym to try and placate him. However, the mention of his dad left Cadin with an urge to figure some things out on his own before he talked to Lep.

Cadin shook off his thoughts as they approached a common detour trailhead on their walk home. Cadin smiled as he looked at Lep who cringed.

“Cloud-worms,” Cadin said before running up the small path. Lep took a deep breath and followed his friend.