Annabelle’s Bastion

It wasn’t often Anna felt utterly helpless to solve her predicaments.

Whether it be because of her family and friends or her own ability, there was never a problem she had she couldn’t solve.

Yet, that sort of power was gone, and she had no personal avenues to explore.

Her roommate—her only friend in the academy—hadn’t returned.

Jack’s death was two weeks ago, and Anna hadn’t heard from Aria since the scene in the forest. No amount of bugging Gromak or her attempts to reach someone with authority were effective, as none could give her an answer. Hell, most didn’t know anything.

The only person who could give an answer was Alisha… if she was around, an indicator of the matter’s complexity.

As if the situation needed to be more annoyingly complicated and tedious, Anna had her own problems to deal with.

Be it dormmates or classmates, people avoided her like the plague! If she didn’t know any better, she’d think the rumor was that she was some kind of ruthless monster!

The academy was finally in full swing, and people should have far more important things to be concerned with. Yet some bad actors—with the most obvious ill intent—were still working overtime to spread what Aria did with Anna as an added accomplice. It felt like a small high school due to how bad it was.

With those two problems together, Anna hadn’t done nearly enough socializing in the last few weeks. Well… and spending hours engrossed in studying her new Sigil and mana.

But, her lack of socialization was a lesser problem; she only needed a few friends at the academy, and Aria fit that bill perfectly. In fact, she’d be fine with just her.

Anna rolled off her bed and went up to her window, staring at the waves as she usually did during times of contemplation.

“We didn’t even get to talk about it,” she muttered.

Her biggest regret was not making it clear right then that she didn’t despise Aria’s actions or think less of her for them. Did she actually fear Anna’s reaction? That’s what it seemed like.

That was ridiculous. Just because Anna didn’t want people to die didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of understanding when their actions became too much to let go. Jack, Jared, and Greg wanted to kill Aria. Those people inched near the final straw even back during the moment Jared rejected her apology.

She wasn’t saddened by Aria’s actions—she was saddened because life was so foolishly and meaninglessly lost just because of pride.

But she knew from the meeting at the bridge that it would end in someone dying, a premonition based on past experiences.

Aria was entirely justified in her actions, even if Anna hated that it had to end like that. It happened simply because Anna didn’t find the time to make amends and didn’t expend enough effort on it. That, and Aria was socially inept.

She would move on, though, without issue—the past isn’t worth dwelling on. But the helplessness was eating her alive, not knowing when Aria was getting back or what was happening to her.

Someone roughly knocked on her door five times in quick succession—that might as well have been a fingerprint.

“Come in, Gromak,” Anna shouted, returning to her bed and sitting on the edge.

The knob twisted lightly, dichotomous with his appearance, and Gromak walked in with a playful smirk. “Did you just knock ID me?”

Anna smiled at him, nodding. “Only you knock on the door like it’s your worst enemy.”

He nodded and crossed his arms. “It is; why’d they make ‘em so narrow?”

“To spite you, I heard.”

Hearing his stupid jokes always made her feel better.

“I knew it!” Gromak chuckled and shook his head. “In all seriousness, I’m here to check in on you, girlie. You got a Sigil, but you haven’t used it, and I know Aria ain’t back yet.”

Anna sighed and fell back into her bed. “No news?”

Gone was the slight hope she didn’t know she had.

But she knew that even Gromak was upset about how little news he’d gotten about Aria. It was technically his property it happened on, which provided some good reason for his involvement. Excuse aside, Aria was quite close to him, and he seemed on the verge of lashing out the last few days. 

Anna had a slim hope it became a diplomatic issue, but Gromak wouldn’t bring his personal feelings into something that grand.

Gromak sighed and shook his head. “Nothin’. Which better change soon because the first tournament is starting soon.” He shut Anna’s door behind him, stepping into the room. “Really pissin’ me off.”

“Already?!” Anna exclaimed and sat up again. “It’s only been 3 weeks!” 

”Calm down, girlie,” he said reassuringly. “Not for another month—more than enough time to get in proper fightin’ form. You’ll get the announcement soon, and I’m askin’ about you right now.”

“Uh, no. We can’t just brush over that news!” Anna went to her desk chair and switched on her tablet. “I’m fine; you guys think I’m more affected by this whole thing than I really am.”

Nothing in the announcements… Did Gromak just break a rule?

“A human died, girlie,” Gromak said gravely, his squinted, steely bronze gaze analyzing Anna.

“And I wish I could have stopped it before it had to happen.” Anna turned toward him and stared into his bronze eyes, hoping he could see that her words were not mere platitudes. “But I’m over it already—not that I was ever damaged. It was sad, yes. Tragic. But what am I to do?” She shook her head. “Either way, it’s been two weeks. Two!”

Gromak looked at her for a good half a minute with his bronze eyes further squinted as if trying to read something from her. Finally, he gravely nodded and bitterly smiled. “You’re an odd one, girlie. My opinion of you is changin’.” He shook his head. “But isn’t that why ya chose a supporting path?”

“Nope,” Anna said, shaking her head. “I forgot to tell you; I have high purity, so it wasn’t really optional. But I did decide to go hybrid and not a pure combatant.”

“Hoh!” Gromak’s eyes widened, and his bronze seemed to shine like he spotted gold. Almost—almost—how he looked at that mithril block! “You have high purity!? You aren’t pullin’ my beard, are ya?”

“Yep, I do; Alisha told me.”

“You talk like it’s small!” he nearly shouted, then quickly shook his head. “I don’t think you understand just how—”

“Oh, trust me, I do.” Anna chuckled.

“Nope! You—” Gromak’s eyes widened, and he coughed. He took a deep breath, calming himself, yet still looked at her deeply. “You could save thousands—millions of lives! If you get the right Sigils…” He spoke with a fervor she never imagined him capable of.

“Yeah, I know,” Anna said.

“You—… I’m almost tempted to lecture you into pure support.” Gromak sighed, shaking his head for the umpteenth time. “But this whole path system shouldn’t be givin’ you guys false notions anyway; they are just a guiding light. If you follow them too strictly, you’ll miss out on the beauty, ya know?”

“That’s close to what Alisha said...” Anna said. A number appeared above her announcement app. “Wow, you’re right—tournament in exactly 1 month from now!”

Gromak scoffed. “Think I’d lie, girlie? The tournament is a pretty simple one, but the prize is ridiculous.”

Anna looked excitedly toward Gromak. “A Sigil?”

“Not just any Sigil, girlie...” Gromak left the last part unsaid, but he had that signature smirk.

Her eyes widened, and she nearly jumped out of the chair. “An APEX Sigil?!”

Gromak chuckled. “Yep.”

“I thought those were impossibly rare? Are they really gonna hand it out as a reward for the first tournament? It’s just gonna be people bashing each other’s face in!” Then it hit her, and she fell back to her chair. “W-wait... I can’t possibly win any of these tournaments...”

How could she not think of the tournaments! If the first one offered an Apex Sigil, how astronomical would the last ones be?!

If she didn’t enroll in combat courses as soon as possible, she’d never be able to win an academy tournament—let alone have even a chance at the coming one! However, upon checking the start date, she despaired. It was before her current classes ended, and she couldn’t change them.

“Calm down, girlie; you look like someone killed your dog.” Gromak chuckled and then gestured toward the tablet. “Good news; supporters are treated differently in these competitions.”

Anna lit up. “How?”

“Read the bottom of the announcement.”

She scrolled through, and there was a large paragraph at the bottom;

We recognize the difficulty those of the supporting and manufacturing paths will have in competing in Bastion Tournaments. Since these individuals are responsible for keeping their fellow mages safe and healthy, we have decided to make a path for them to be rewarded for their efforts.

Therefore, we are happy to announce Mutually Beneficial Partnerships. With this implementation, Supporters and Manufacturers can form a partnership with a combatant and aid them in their fights. This means they would be allowed to cast spells such as Hyper Enhancement before fights and heal their partner after. Manufacturers could provide weapons, armor, or other accessories to aid their combatants.

At the end of each year, the Supporter or Manufacturer whose partner  performed the best in the year’s competitions will receive an exceptional Apex Sigil hand chosen by Vanguard Alice and Headmaster Alisha. 

“Wow,” Anna exclaimed as she turned the tablet off. “So I really, really need Aria to come back already!”

“Exactly,” Gromak agreed, nodding. He raised a finger, saying,  “But also, Aria can win the tournament and choose to hand the Apex Sigil over to you. That result is the likely case since I doubt they have an Apex Sigil that girlie wants.”

True!

“Right!” Anna eagerly nodded. “She is very peculiar about the Sigil she wants, and I also don’t think it’d be one the academy would provide.”

Gromak chuckled wryly. “Now, now, girlie. You make it sound like the Sigil is bad, but there’s no such thing as a bad Apex Sigil.”

“Yeah, but the most patient are the strongest.”

“I see you been talkin’ to Alisha.”

Anna shrugged. “Is she wrong?”

“Nope!” Gromak nodded proudly. “Apex Sigils determine your ultimate place in the universe and represent the core of your strength. You gotta get one that synergizes well with the Sigils you got already, or get it early and do the opposite.”

“Yeah, but…” Anna sighed. “It sucks, though, since it’s pretty much up to fate. You never know when you’re gonna get that perfect fit.”

“Indeed. Most people end up settlin’ since it presents a major bottleneck.”

“What about you?”

Gromak smirked and lifted his nose. “I was patient, girlie.”

“Ooo~ what kind of Sigil do you have?”

He snorted and looked offended. “Not tellin’! Just know you got lucky havin’ me as your dorm manager.”

Gromak joked, but he had to be on the stronger side of Bastion. Anna couldn’t fathom what kind of strength one would have if they obtained an Apex Sigil complementary to their preexisting Sigils.

“What rank are you?” Anna asked.

“Don’t have one. I’m what they call an Agent. Part of Bastion, but an independent operator.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I don’t wanna go out there anymore. I’m 64, girlie.”

“What?” He didn’t look a day over... 40? Anna wasn’t particularly good at spotting ages, but he definitely didn’t look over 60.

“How offensive! I got a good 60 years left in me.”

Anna quickly shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that! You look young!”

“I’m a Dwarf, girlie, I won’t look 120 until I’m 120.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yep.”

“Huh.” Anna slid out of her desk. She took one last look at the announcement before turning the tablet off and then turning back to Gromak. “In all seriousness, we gotta do something about Aria. Is there anybody I can reach out to?”

He shook his head and clicked his tongue. “I wish I fuckin’ knew. I’m sure you already picked it up on it, but that girlie is...  A special case.”

“Of course.” Anna sat on her bed and then shook her head. “If you told me she wasn’t human, I’d believe you.”

Snow white hair, amber eyes, and unreasonably strong for a new mage.

“How rude, but I get it.” Gromak paused, looking like he was considering what he should give out.

“Please tell me, Gromak. She’s a dear friend, and this whole thing is partly my fault.”

He snickered. “You only just met; how can she be your ‘dear friend?’ And what do you mean your fault?”

“She killed Jack because she was worried they’d come after me to get to her.”

“That...” He paused for a moment in thought, then clicked his tongue and nodded. “Yeah, she’d do somethin’ like that, I think...” He shrugged. “She’s never had a friend her age before, but her loyalty has always been abnormally fierce.” 

That only stung more to hear.

Anna fully believed Aria resorted to violence so readily because they wanted to come after her. If it was her walking back to their dorm that day... she’d probably be dead. Aria knew that. That was why she issued that warning to Jack on their first day.

“Can you...” Anna paused and shook her head. “Never mind, I shouldn’t learn about her behind her back. I want her to tell me about herself on her own volition.”

“How kind. Then, allow me to shed some light on the recent situation.” Gromak pulled out Aria’s chair but stopped. “I think I’m too big for this.”

Anna snickered.

“You better not get fat, girlie, or I’ll laugh at you to your deathbed.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

At least he lightened the mood. 

“Well, fine, I’ll just stand.” He went back to the door and leaned against it with his arms crossed. He took a minute to consider his words, then nodded slowly. “I can’t tell you where she’s from, so don’t ask. But I will tell you that she ain’t from this island or this planet.”

Anna nodded. “I know that much.”

It wasn’t directly stated, but it was clear humans were on far more worlds than just Earth. 

“Right, I suppose that’s obvious, ain’t it?” He dryly chuckled. “Well, it ain’t that that makes some upset; it’s where she’s from and the nature by which we found her.” He sighed. “Honestly, girlie, I can’t blame ‘em.”

“What?” 

“She’s from a very... calling it dangerous is an underestimate.” He grimly shook his head, his expression darkened. “She’s from a nasty, disgusting place. Girlie… If it weren’t for a few kind mages, Aria woulda been killed as an infant just for the association.”

“What?!” Anna jumped out of her bed. “As a child?!”

Nothing could ever warrant such a drastic action! They could say her birth killed a thousand people, and that still wouldn’t change!

“I wish I could tell you more, but my lips are locked. Just understand this, girlie.” He pushed off the door, his eyes locked on Anna. “Her existence ain’t just a slight threat; it could very well spell the end for every race in the universe. At least, that’s what some fear.”

“What does that mean, Gromak? You have to give me more than that!”

“Not happenin’,” Gromak shook his head resolutely. “You don’t have to worry; she’s long been determined safe. Most of us, including people above Alisha, deemed her clear.”

Anna clicked her tongue. “But some don’t, Gromak.” 

“Yes, and that’s the problem, girlie.” Gromak pushed off the door and opened it. “She’s under serious scrutiny, and there are people actively lookin’ for a reason to give her the boot or even execute her...” He beckoned Anna to follow. ”Come, let’s go get you some food, then we’ll go see if Alisha’s returned.”

Anna pictured a small child, alone and without family, being under the scrutinizing eyes of men and women who likely contained nothing but fear and hatred. Just because of where she came from. It hurt.

She clenched her fists and followed Gromak downstairs. “I have to help her...” she mumbled.