Symphonic Odyssey
: Vol. Two: Beneath the Hawthorn Tree: Verse One-Hundred and Four

Melodi guided him along, and as they walked, Cypher explained all about what he knew of the Academy. He talked about the layout and some of the teachers he had met, as well as the entrance ceremony and the headmaster. Melodi listened on, her eyes glistening with wonder as he described everything he could.

“As for passing the entrance exam, well, I was a special case and didn’t have to take it… well not exactly anyway. But I did see someone go through a few trials, and as long as you think critically and have some measure of skill you should pass it easily enough,” finished Cypher as they continued to walk through rows of trees in the Royal district.

“Hm, so it’s a combat test as well as a test of knowledge? Interesting… Well, I should be able to handle that much as long as I’m allowed to bring my bow with me. Father has been training me relentlessly for the last year and I have to say it’s been quite difficult to keep up but I’ve made amazing improvements!” Melodi replied, a look of pride on her face as she finished.

“I don’t doubt that one bit, you seem to be quite capable especially if you guessed the nature of the exams with how little information I gave you. I’m sure you’ll get in with no problem. Still, I replace it interesting that you’re going to be applying next year, usually, they only allow kids who are fourteen or older.”

“Well that’s true, but my father has a special arrangement with the Academy on account of my older brother dying in an accident there,” Cypher grew silent and didn’t know how to respond to that sudden reveal.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, I didn’t realize, err…”

Melodi shook her head, “Don’t be sorry, he was actually terrible, to be honest. He lacked any and all skill when it came to being a Conductor, plus he treated me pretty badly and liked to hit me a lot…” Melodi looked down and pressed her face into the cat in her arms and Cypher caught a glimpse of pain on her face before it was hidden.

She looked up at him a moment later, “It’s interesting actually, he was so bad that he actually killed himself in the accident because he tried to use too much mental energy. Since the professor responsible for watching him was negligent my father was told he could enroll me early as compensation. It seems like that was better than paying my family in gold or other materials, although we still received quite a substantial sum of money, and the teacher responsible for being— well… irresponsible, was fired and had their Orrium sealed.”

‘Oh so I really was getting special treatment then wasn’t I? Ehh I suppose I’m just glad that Glenda and Alvin didn’t have to suffer for my mistake,” Cypher thought.

Melodi looked at Cypher again with her eyebrow slightly raised as he fell silent. “Hey, aren’t you only twelve yourself? How did you manage to get in so early? You really don’t seem like a noble if I’m being honest. No offense!”

Cypher flashed her a weak smile and replied, “Oh, well as I said earlier, there were special circumstances involved in my entrance to the academy…”

Melodi squinted her eyes and looked him over slowly as they walked, “Would it happen to be because you’re a Null elemental?” she asked, and Cypher stopped dead in his tracks before looking at her with a shocked expression.

“How— how did you know that?!” he asked, and Melodi giggled and hid a smile.

“It’s a gift of mine. Well, to be accurate, it runs in the family on my mother’s side. All the women in our family can divine the elemental affinity of other beings, including humans. Although, it doesn’t seem to work on beings far more powerful than ourselves. Sorry if I was being too nosy, I couldn’t help it.”

Cypher crossed his arms and looked down at the ground. He wasn’t exactly mad or anything, but his affinity was supposed to be a secret. Without any difficulty, she had blown his cover. ‘What if there are others in the world who can do something like that? How am I supposed to keep my element a secret if someone can just come along and figure it out that easily?’

Melodi interrupted his thoughts though by saying, “Don’t worry, Null is obviously an extremely rare elemental affinity, it’s no wonder you got into the Academy at so young an age. You don’t have to worry though, I won’t tell anyone I promise! Honestly, I thought that Null Conductors were only a myth!”

Cypher looked up at her and saw that she was wearing an honest smile on her face and he decided to trust her and let the matter drop. Besides, there wasn’t much else he could do now that she knew.

The two kept walking until they reached a secluded part of the Royal District. Around here there weren’t many houses, but just as with the rest of the district, it was tidy and well cared for.

Only a cluster of those Hawthorn trees filled the area. The difference here, however, was that not only were the blue flowers growing beneath the trees, but all over their trunks as well. Some of them were even glowing softly with faint light in the shade those trees provided.

Cypher looked around in curiosity, a strange humming sound filled the area and he was trying to determine where it was coming from. Melodi didn’t seem to notice and said, “Well, if there are any special Hawthorn trees in this city, these would be the ones. See how some of the flowers are kind of glowing?

“I’ve noticed that none of the other flowers in the city glow quite like that, even in the shade. I’m sure this is what you’re looking for right?” Melodi waved her hand across the small grove and gave Cypher another smile.

He smiled back and thanked Melodi, “I guess I should get to work and see if I can replace what I’m looking for.”

Melodi yelped as her cat let out a low yowl and took off after a mouse that had bolted in the direction of some houses in the distance.

She turned to Cypher and gave him a helpless look and then grinned, “Guess I have some work of my own to attend to, thanks for getting him the first time, but looks like it’s up to me to track him down now!”

Cypher nodded and replied, “I’ll see you around the Academy next year right?” Melodi’s expression looked a little sad for a moment, and Cypher decided to try and cheer her up as he continued, “I’ll give you a proper tour myself alright?” Melodi’s smile quickly returned and a faint redness appeared in her cheeks at those words.

“I’d love that! I’ll see you around Cypher, good luck!” At that, she ran off after her cat and disappeared around a corner. Part of Cypher was sad to see her go, but he shook that feeling off and began his search. This area was a little too obvious to be the location of his parent’s home, but he had to check it out all the same.

Besides, it wasn’t like he had any other leads, and if he thought about it, the area wasn’t too obvious if you didn’t know that something might be hidden here. Cypher stepped further into the grove and as he did, the small gem that had been inside the orb his Mother left him grew hot inside his pocket.

He tried to fish it out to see what was wrong with it, but as he touched it, it burned him. He let out a cry of pain and the gem tumbled to the ground. As it landed, it began to glow white and then shifted to the same blue color as the flowers all around him.

A glowing circle appeared on the ground and it looked almost like the diagram of a spell. Cypher watched as the blue from all the surrounding flowers seemed to flow into it and after a moment the circle and the gem dug into the ground. It went deep, carving out the details of the diagram into the dirt of the earth.

The sound of that faint humming from before grew louder. After a moment, the ground shook and Cypher readied himself for any danger that might appear. Where the circle had been, a statue of a strange dog-like creature with curved horns began to rise from the ground, and a shimmering veil appeared behind Cypher and encompassed the grove around him. Cypher looked at the statue and stumbled back and through the veil.

The moment he passed through, he saw that the statue seemed to disappear and only the grove remained. ‘Ah, that’s pretty clever Mother,’ He thought to himself as he stepped back inside the veil. The statue had continued to rise up out of the ground and it sat upon a cylindrical base made of stone that stood almost ten feet tall.

Cypher looked up at that strange dog-like creature and wondered what it could possibly be. It was clearly a Zightbeast of some kind, but Cypher had never heard of something that looked like that before. His attention though was pulled towards the cylinder of stone that it sat upon.

It began to shudder and the front of it seemed to shimmer, almost as if it had become a liquid instead of solid stone. Cypher pressed his hand forward and it dipped inside. His head soon followed and he saw that a ladder leading down was concealed inside.

“I guess I’m heading underground then,” he said to himself as he stepped through the shimmering veil of stone and disappeared inside.