Transcendence

[catriana_fiction]

Title: Transcendence
Series: Arcanus
Pairing(s): Not telling although the obvious ones are VariRori and KadenRori
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Drama
Rating: M
Summary: This story takes place along the same time as Arcanus. I'm posting it up here because reviewing it on Word isn't the same. I'll be filtering this so that only a few people can read it atm. Please let me know what you think if you can.
Warnings: Boy's Love
Notes: I fucking love Vari in this chapter.

 

1

xxxxx

A sharp cry escaped as a little boy hit the ground hard, his perfectly pressed academy uniform immediately becoming dirty and rumpled. Tears filled bright blue eyes as pain lanced up his hip and side. He was going to bruise, he always bruised so easily.

Two boys, much bigger and possibly older than him stood with their arms crossed, grinning down at him. Both wore the same uniform as he but instead of black ties theirs were red, indicating that they were in a higher class. He was too new to know which one. One had black wavy hair with brown eyes, the other had blonde hair and grey eyes. Both were sporting short hairstyles, long hair wasn’t allowed in the academy until one was in the upper years.

“Look at this; I thought girls weren’t allowed in the academy.” The brunette snorted “Especially little albino girls.”

“What’s your name, girl?” the other chimed in. He was the smaller of the two, crossing his arms.

When the boy didn’t immediately answer another sharp cry filled the courtyard as he was kicked hard in the side. Curling up into a small ball, tears squeezed out from tightly shut eyes and he whimpered. What did he do? He had just been walking the campus, it was his first day of school and these boys had dragged him out and began to pick on him. They said he looked like a girl; that wasn’t the first time he had heard that but never so negatively.

“Hey! Tell us your name you little punk!” Another sharp jolt of pain blossomed at his temple and he made a strangled noise, openly sobbing as he tried harder to curl in on himself. Whenever he was afraid he’d clam up, words eluded him. He wanted to go home, he didn’t like school, people already didn’t like him.

A hand gripped his shirt and he was pulled up to face bright grey eyes. “I don’t like being ignored!” he shouted “Answer up you little albino freak!”

When he opened his mouth to shout something else there was a loud cracking sound and he pitched forward; eyes wide in shock and pain. A small squeak escaped the little albino boy and he tried to shift so that the bigger male didn’t land on him.

“The hells you doin’ Larchs?!” the brunette this time.

The albino took in the newcomer; a young boy with short black hair and brown eyes. He held a rather impressive looking stick in his hand.

“I should be asking you that, Quist.” He was actually wearing a silver tie and the young boy was impressed. Only the top three in their respective grades were allowed to wear those. “So what, you got nothing better to do than to pick on newcomers?” he looked down at the boy. “What’s your name?”

“R-Rori...Rori vil Wesser.” He answered meekly, unsure of what to do or what else to say.

“Sure you don’t mean Rori en Wesser?” the one known as Quist asked, snickering.

“Shut up.” The one known as Larchs pointed his formidable weapon at him “Get out of here or I will report both of you pieces of raw garbage. We’re third years, you should know better.”

“Whatever!” Quist walked over, struggling to pick up his friend. They wouldn’t say anything, mostly because they had started the fight, the Wesser kid was sporting bruises, and with Larchs speaking against them they’d just get in trouble.

As they staggered away the brunette sighed, giving the younger boy a wry grin. “You do kind of look like a girl.”

Rori looked down, not knowing what to say.

“It’s not a bad thing.” Blue eyes snapped up to brown and Larchs smile became warm. “At least you look like a cute girl.” He shrugged and chuckled lightly when the younger boy turned scarlet. “I suppose we need to have a look at you. If I just let you go to the nurse I might as well turn those guys in too.” He helped Rori to stand and began to look him over, dusting him off at the same time “Who’s your Dorm Brother?” he sounded distracted.

“Um...I...” he dug into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I j-just got here so...”

“Really?” he looked incredulous. “I guess you don’t have a very high opinion of the academy now...but it’s not really that bad. Those guys are rare here.”

Shaking his head, Rori winced when a hand pressed to his side. When Larchs had him pull up his shirt he made a noise.

“This is bad.” Standing straight, he looked annoyed, but not at the albino. “I hate to do it, but I’m going to actually have to report them. Geez, they were really trying to hurt you. Did you do or say anything to them?” he raised a hand before Rori could speak up “Never mind, you’re too quiet to have gone out of your way to piss them off.” He put a hand on top of the younger boy’s head and took the paper, looking over it. After a moment, he smiled.

“Well, we’re suite mates, so that’s good. I’ll show you around a bit then.”

“Um...” biting his lip, Rori tilted his head slightly. This boy had saved him. It wasn’t like he had to and for that he was grateful. “I...allow me to re-introduce myself,” he began politely, remembering what his tudors had taught him. “My name is Rorizin vil Wesser.”

Larchs stared at him with open shock for a moment before laughing, shaking his head and making Rori feel very embarrassed. “Do you always give your true name to someone just because they save you?”

Face heating, Rori didn’t respond, feeling rather foolish. It was taught that names were powerful, so one did not give out their true name lightly. When someone did, it was a sign of trust and friendship. He had thought that maybe...well, he had misunderstood it seemed.

“Kadence.”

“Huh?” the albino was clearly confused.

“I’m Kaden vil Larchs, but my true name is Kadence.” He smiled and reached down, taking Rori’s hand. Now the younger boy was blushing, but for a different reason. “You want to be friends, I don’t mind.” He chuckled lightly “Someone’s going to have to look out for you, you’re hopeless. Come, classes don’t start for another few weeks to allow all the students to come in and get settled. I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying but then I’ll have to leave to go to a Society meeting. Think you can manage to stay out of trouble until I return?”

At first, Rori was a little confused and put out by Kaden’s words. Then he realized that the boy wasn’t actually serious – for the most part – and he began to feel elated. He had never had a friend before and he liked Kaden, he was nice. “Yes, I think so.”

“How old are you Rori?” the two began walking and the younger boy looked around, half paying attention, half in awe at the sights before him.

Silvernore Academy was the top academy for nobles which made sense since it was in the Bavarian kingdom and besides the imperial capital, Bavaria was the most powerful kingdom around. It was an all male academy and only the more powerful noble families could afford to send their children there.

“I’m seven summers.”

“For some reason, I thought someone like you would have been born during the winter months.” Kaden squeezed Rori’s hand gently. “Luckily for us, our dorm brother stashes magical items, so he should have an elixir or something to help with your injuries.”

At the word ‘magic’ the pale boy’s interest became focused. He was fascinated about magic, but there was a good reason for that he was unable to reveal. “I thought we weren’t allowed to use magical items. Aren’t they illegal?”

They walked down a long path outside that was outlined with high arching walls. Out further ahead was what Rori could tell was a beautiful garden and through the maze hedges he could see the tip of a fountain somewhere in there. This place was much larger than the Wesser estate and Rori had thought his home had been massive.

“They are illegal.” Kaden’s voice had him tearing his eyes from the beautiful grounds to focus on the brunette. “But what’s the point of being nobility if we can’t take the liberties given to us every now and then?” he shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like we’re actually casting magic; we’re just using items.”

Rori remained silent, not wanting to argue with his new friend. The Order of the Crimson Tides was quickly growing in power; it was said that the king was actually going to give them enough authority to police over the lands in regards to anything magical. Enchanted items were fine but anything beyond that could get an individual in a lot of trouble. The young boy couldn’t remember all of what his parents had said about them, just that they were very much against any race not human and preached a lot about the threats of the combined forces of demons and vampires. He didn’t even know what those creatures were beyond ‘scary’.

“Anyway,” Kaden’s voice once again cut him out of his thoughts. He had stopped and pointed to a large white tower off in the far distance. “That’s the actual academy. There are four dorm buildings that encircle the tower. Both the academy and the dorms are split into parts.” He started walking, never letting go of Rori’s hand.

“The academy is split into different sections. There’s the Military Ward, the Science and Philosophy Ward, then there’s the Arts and finally the Culture Ward. I’ll get into those in a second. The dorms are split up by age. Those between the ages of seven and fourteen reside in the lower levels in suites. There are five suites to a dorm brother and a suite houses ten of us comfortably. The dorm brother has his own personal room, he’s actually the only student in the entire academy that does. He has a lot of responsibility, though, because he handles everything concerning the suites he’s assigned and if any instructor has to get involved, it’s always a huge mess.

“From fifteen to eighteen you end up being put in two man rooms. They’re about half the size of a suite but each room has its own facilities; the only thing they share is a common room. You don’t really need to worry about that for a long time. The one thing to remember though is that you are absolutely not allowed to go past the fifth floor.” He made sure he had Rori’s full attention at that. “There’s no reason for you to go up there and if you get caught, you’ll get into a lot of trouble.”

He made a mental note of it. “Don’t go past the fifth floor...”

They finally walked into the building that was to be Rori’s home for the next few months and he blinked owlishly. For someone as small as him, the ten story building was incredible. When he looked up he could see the floors and was in awe at the all the movement and voices. At the very top there seemed to be some sort of painting but he couldn’t at all determine what it was from where he was standing.

On each floor’s banister rested a red and black flag depicting a wolf howling at a crescent moon. Looking around, he noticed how the bottom level was decorated in red, black, and gold. There was a student sitting at a large desk stationed at the far right, enabling him to see any students coming in through the main door. His uniform tie was white, meaning he was in his final year.

The senior boy had been reading a book but looked up at the two boys walking in. A brow rose when he noticed the two boys holding hands. He supposed at that age he had done things like that; he honestly couldn’t remember. “Larchs,” he nodded his head towards the newcomer “Who is that?”

“Rori vil Wesser.” Kaden responded politely and Rori blinked at how different the boy sounded. The amused borderline arrogance in his tone had dropped completely. “He’s a new suitemate.”

This surprised the older male “Already? Wow kid, your parents must have really wanted to get rid of you. There’s still weeks before the term begins. Most kids arrive two weeks before.”

Kaden took in the boy’s crestfallen expression and frowned. He turned back to the senior. “Anyway, could you please inform Praela that I will be about five minutes late to the meeting? I want to make sure Rori at least gets settled in.”

Dark brown eyes rolled. “Whatever, Larchs. You could show up thirty minutes late and Praela would still talk about you like you’re the greatest thing since airships. You becoming a dorm brother is practically sealed in blood at this point. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised, you are from the Larchs family.”

Smirking briefly, the brunette began to lead the white haired boy along. “Thank you Torun.” Kaden said in a teasing voice and was waved away, the older boy rolling his eyes at him again.

“Is your family really influential?” Rori couldn’t help but to ask.

He was given a look, as if he should have already known the answer to the question, but was answered anyway. “The Larchs family is the closest one related to the king’s bloodline. We are very influential, but we’re also known for our personal excellence. There’s not a Larchs that has come through here that did not begin and end in Silver.” He put his hand on his tie. “My older brother and cousin are nearing their final year, they are also Silvers. Being a dorm brother is optional so my brother declined the position; but our parents weren’t too pleased. I won’t be making the same mistake.”

“Oh.” Rori was amazed and impressed. Kaden came from a perfect family and seemed to be perfect himself.

“The Wesser family isn’t that far behind,” he was still being given a funny look. “You’re one of those families that believe in pure bloodlines, so you rarely marry outside of the family. Purebloods are rare these days, a few noble families are talking about trying to get back into the practice, since they’re worried about their line thinning out.”

Blue eyes widened “You...know a lot.” Well, he certainly had earned his position as a Silver.

Now Kaden was frowning at him. “This is common knowledge stuff, Rori.” He sounded a little disappointed, making the younger boy feel ashamed. “Didn’t your tutors teach you anything?”

Tears stung the back of Rori’s eyes and he looked down. They stopped walking and he sniffed. “I-I’m sorry...”

“Rori?” Kaden let go of his hand to awkwardly place them on his shoulders. “H-hey are...” he made a strangled noise. “Don’t cry Rori, gods...” he looked around, slightly panicked as the younger boy began to silently weep, rubbing at his face with his sleeve. “You’re such a girl.” This only upset his friend more and exasperated, Kaden pulled Rori back and into a currently empty hall.

Leaning against the wall, Kaden pulled the albino close, ignoring the startled gasp as arms went around his smaller frame. “I’m sorry I made you cry.” The brunette said softly although he looked annoyed. He looked around again to make sure they were alone. “Listen Rorizin, if you don’t know, that’s not your fault, it’s the tutor’s. They’re supposed to teach you that stuff before you enter the academy. We’re friends right? So don’t worry, I’ll look out for you, I promise.”

He sighed and smiled when Rori nodded with a few more sniffles. It was weird; normally Kaden wouldn’t have given this shy and weak boy a second glance even if he was from the Wesser family. He was to be the best and so he had only allowed himself to associate with the best. Rori could be considered that family-wise; everything else was questionable.

The albino seemed so...lost and clueless; like a puppy. He seemed pretty frail and his self-esteem was crap which was strange for a noble male. With his lack of knowledge on even the most simple of things, Kaden thought back to Torun’s words. Maybe his parents had wanted to get rid of their son and the brunette wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Maybe Rori just needed someone confident to help him build up his self-esteem. It would also look good on him to his family, taking a potential failure and turning him into something. It had nothing to do with him actually liking the boy and wanting to help and protect him, not at all. It was an absurd notion.

“K-Kadence?” it was asked weakly but the older boy started. It wasn’t that he had never been called by his true name before; it was just...weird having Rori do it. Maybe it was because they had only met less than an hour ago.

“Yes?”

Pulling back, Rori smiled thinly, but it was genuine. “Thank you...I promise I’ll repay you somehow. Y-you’ve been so nice.”

Something tightened in Kaden’s chest at the tone. It was as if Rori had never encountered such a thing before and now he was really wondering; what exactly happened to make the albino the way he was at such a young age? Like his brother, the youngest Larchs was considered to be a genius but he was somewhat at a loss. He had never met anyone like Rori.

Satisfied that he wasn’t going to continue to cry, Kaden took his hand. “It’s fine. Friends help each other, that’s how it works. Your belongings should have been brought in by now, so let’s see where you’ll be sleeping.” He was debating using his status to get Rori situated in his room. It was still very early; it wouldn’t be difficult at all.

The rooms were situated so that there were two boys in five small rooms. The rooms held enough space only to sleep, store and change clothes, and do school work. If one wanted to lounge around, they used the common area. There were two baths to be shared between the ten boys and none of the rooms had doors except for the front door and bathrooms.

Each bathroom held a sink long enough for about four boys to brush their teeth at their age and the shower had two small stalls, allowing a total of four boys to shower at the same time between the two. There were two large laundry bins in a closet. All items were to have their owner’s names written on them so that they could be returned properly. Towels and washcloths were shared and were provided by the dorm masters.

The common room was the largest part of the suite. There were two large couches, two sofa chairs, and a large round table off to the far left of the room. There was a kitchenette but first and second years were not allowed to cook until they took the course and were certified. Burning down the dorms was not something the powers that be wanted to deal with.

There was a coat closet that also housed a various assortment of board games; mostly strategy in nature. There was a large set of shelves to the far right with ten slots for books, although not many. Besides the common room, it seemed to be a very restricted living space.

Rori didn’t care about that; his life had already been heavily restricted before coming here, especially because of his...problem. He was hoping that there would be more boys like Kaden, because he liked having a friend.

It was very quiet and Rori looked around shyly while Kaden walked over to a small board with about three papers attached. After a moment, he let out an irritated sound, catching Rori’s attention.

“Of all the people...” snorting, the brunette turned to his new friend. “Well, you’re in the room next to me but your roommate...” he scowled. “Disgusting.” It sounded as if he was speaking more to himself. “And my roommate is a Silver, apparently, so I can’t switch you unless he wants to.”

“Um...what’s wrong with my roommate?” it sounded bad; was he going to be a bully like the other boys he had encountered? He hoped not.

“He’s a second year and he comes from a financially wealthy family...but a disgraced one. I’ll try and see if I can switch you with someone else, you don’t need to be associating with the likes of him. He’s uncultured and just...” he shook his head. “I still can’t believe they allowed that...”

Kaden was cut off as a blonde haired boy suddenly walked into the room, a bag slung over his shoulder. His tie was green, showing that he was a second year and his uniform was...messy. If Rori was honest with himself, it wasn’t really ‘messy’, just not pristine. His tie was loose and his shirt was undone a bit and not tucked into his pants. He wasn’t as tanned as Kaden but he was definitely darker than Rori. He was about the same height as his new friend.

Violet eyes, a shade Rori had never seen on anyone before, glanced along the room before settling on Rori. He blinked. Then he blinked again. A huge grin split his features and the youngest found himself suddenly being touched in all sorts of places, namely his hair.

“Slick!” the boy pulled back, eyes bright. “They actually let you dye your hair? I heard we weren’t allowed to do that here.” He tugged at his blonde tresses. “Otherwise I’d be a brunette.” He stuck out his tongue playfully and Rori actually found himself giggling.

He missed the look that came over Kaden’s well bred features. “He’s an albino, you idiot.” A dark brow twitched. “What in the hells are you doing, Foclner?” the voice was terse. “Stop harassing newcomers or is being civilized beyond you still?”

With a long suffering sigh, the blonde pulled back. “Larchs. Shut. The fuck. Up.” He said it very slowly, equally irritated. “Don’t you have someone’s ass to go kiss? Why are you here? The Society meeting is already starting isn’t it?” rolling his eyes, he looked at Rori. “An albino? Never seen one of you. Some sort of genetic defect, right?” 

“Don’t ask him such rude questions!” Kaden walked over, shifting so that he was almost standing between Foclner and Rori. He ignored the earlier jibes, upset for his new friend. “Do you have no manners? Think about how the other person feels before you speak so crassly.”

Violet eyes turned to light blue and he shrugged. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to be rude.”

Rori wasn’t really offended, the boy was about as rude as Kaden, he was just less polite about it. “Um, it’s okay.” He gave the older boy a small smile. “My name is Rori vil Wesser. I, uh, think I might be your roommate.” If Kaden’s reaction was any indication.

His face lit up again. “Really?” Foclner grinned “My name is Vari vil Foclner. I finally get a cute one this year. The last guy was annoying.” Walking over, he grabbed the bag that he had dropped, completely oblivious to Rori’s wide eyed, slack jawed expression.

Did he...just call me cute? Kaden had done so as well but...it had felt different. He wasn’t sure how, just that it had.

“You freak.”Kaden shook his head. “There’s something seriously wrong with you. How you passed the entrance exams, much less made it to Silver is beyond me. You’re...”

“Uncivilized, uncultured, blah, blah, blah.” Vari swung his bag back over his shoulder. “Yes, Larchs, I know. You’ve made sure I’ve known it since I’ve gotten here. It’s old, find a new hobby.” The brunette stiffened when Vari walked up to him, his expression hard and cold. He stopped right in front of the older male, squaring off. Kaden didn’t back down, although he was slightly nervous.

“Believe it or not, I’m a Silver because I’m not a dumbass.” Tilting his head, Vari grinned humorously. “I earned the tie I’m going to get in a few days. I didn’t kiss anyone’s ass nor did I use my family’s name to get what I wanted. So screw you, you pretentious dick.” With that said, he walked into his room without another word.

The first year had to admit, he had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to deal with what just happened. The two boys obviously knew and did not care for the other at all, but Rori thought they were both interesting in their own ways. Vari was just an oddity altogether; he had never met anyone as brazen and open as him before. Everything in a noble’s life was about order, manners, and appearances. It seemed that Vari could care less about any of those.

He actually felt a little envious.

“Kaden?” Rori walked over to his friend who looked absolutely enraged. When the albino put a hand on his shoulder dark eyes flickered over to him with a flash of irritation. Realizing who it was, he closed his eyes and let out a breath. His smile was strained.

“Sorry...” he took Rori’s hand, his other moving to rest on his shoulder. “Listen,” his voice was low. “Do you see now what I meant? He’s not worth associating with, okay Rori? He’ll just make you look bad.” He looked up at the clock. “I have to go but when I come back, I’ll tell you more about the academy and we can get something to eat if you want.” He smiled “If we’re going to be friends, we should learn a bit more about each other.”

“Alright.” Rori returned the smile, feeling a little shy with Kaden being so nice to him.

“I’ll also call the dorm brother about your bruises. There’s no one here, so take a shower, it’ll help.” He put a hand through white hair. “I’ll see you later. Try not to get into trouble.” Came the light tease and Rori nodded, smile widening.

When his new friend finally left, Rori felt a little lonely. It seemed that they were the only three boys here and Kaden had told him not to be friends with Vari. He didn’t like that, because he thought Vari was nice despite his weird attitude, but Kaden was very smart and knew a lot of things he didn’t. If he did something bad, word would get back to his parents and he...really didn’t want that to happen.

“Is he gone?” Vari peeked out from their room, shrugging out of his uniform jacket and shirt. “I hate that guy. He’s had it out for me ever since he heard how I had aced the entrance exams.”

“You did?” Because of Rori’s station, he had been exempt from taking the exams. He had heard that they were extremely difficult, however, and had been really glad for not having to take them.

Vari’s smile wasn’t as arrogant as Kaden’s; in fact, he was giving Rori a really strange look. He honestly couldn’t put it in words. “Yeah. I have a photographic memory so when I was taken in and they tried to cram books into my head I kind of ate it up. I like reading a lot.” The grin turned into a smirk “Well? You gonna come in? I promise I won’t bite.”

Rori was definitely being teased and he looked down at the ground shyly as he walked into the room. He recognized his belongings sitting on his side of the room and walked over, pale hands moving over the fabric of one of his suitcases.

“So, did Larchs tell you about my ‘shameful’ background?” Vari’s voice cut in and Rori turned, blinking.

“N-no. I think he was going to, but you walked in.”

Discomfort moved through him when the blonde stared at him blankly for a moment before turning away, chuckling. “You’re a real honest guy, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like you before.”

“Oh.” It didn’t sound like Vari had been mocking him, but Rori still felt a little hurt. It seemed that he constantly did or said things to amuse or annoy people.

At the sad tone, the blonde turned to him, taking in the albino’s expression before smiling. “It’s a good thing, Rori.” Blue eyes looked up at him and he nodded. “You might not want to be so honest or nice all the time around these guys, but it’s kind of...good to know there’s people like you.” He sounded as if he hadn’t thought it was possible and the younger boy didn’t really know how to feel about that.

Why didn’t Kaden want him to be friends with Vari? Rori found that he really liked the blonde. He was crude but kind and seemed to like him, which was a relief.

“Thank you.” Rori said politely and although Vari didn’t turn to him, he did nod once. “You’re um, really nice too. I like you.” He covered his mouth, realizing that he had perhaps said too much.

This time the blonde did turn to him, his eyes wide with surprise. Their gazes locked and then Rori was given a look that he would later learn would only be shown around him. “I think I like you too, Rori.” Then he was closing the distance, stopping as close as he had been with Kaden earlier. Blue eyes were wide as he took in Vari’s serious and thoughtful expression.

His eyes...they look old. Came the thought. Vari’s eyes seemed to hold experiences and emotions that were beyond his years making Rori curious about his background. Kaden had said it was disgraceful.

“You aristocrats are all about names, right? Where I come from, names don’t have the same meaning. A name is just a name.” a hand rose, fingers idly playing with white hair. “My mother named me Nino but when I was taken in I was given a name more suited to being a noble. So my true name is Varicen.”

Varicen. It meant ‘strength’ and ‘tenacious’ in the old language. Rori found it very fitting. He was also feeling a little strange, for his stomach was beginning to feel funny at Vari’s close proximity and his face was heating. Maybe it was because he was feeling a little giddy. Vari had given his true name first, meaning he trusted him and wanted to be friends. He found that he really wanted to be friends with the blonde.

I’m sorry Kaden.

“My name is Rorizin vil Wesser.”

Violet eyes blinked. “Perseverance? Uh, I’m still not good with ancient languages but that’s what it means, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I was named after my great grandfather. He was also an albino.” His smile was sheepish. “I’m...glad you want to be friends, Varicen.”

Perhaps it was the way he had said it, for the hand dropped and the blonde’s cheeks reddened. Then he shook his head, a smile emerging. “Yeah. I think we’ll be good friends, Rorizin.”