INSIGNIAS: THE REGALIS

The night was long and cold inside the manor. Skhy stared at the ceiling with his arms tucked behind his head, sleep too far from his reach. His mind was busy thinking of the Rosein Army’s presence on the island and Alyssa’s confusing statements. He couldn’t sleep knowing that the Rosein might attack anytime, fear started bubbling inside him. But a huge part of him was disappointed that the knights refused to act immediately. Still, he trusted their abilities. He figured that Anika and Neus had told the other knights and started planning and acting. But, he didn’t completely trust them so he kept the matters about Alyssa and the bright globe in confidence. Fortunately, Nate had the same thought as well as Faz and Clyne.

Sleep consumed him a few hours before dawn so when someone shook him, a sleepy groan escaped his mouth. The Seven were ready at four, waiting patiently and sleep-deprived in front of the manor, enveloped by the thin darkness of the morn. Homer led them to a wide dry field, an hour's walk from the manor. The ground looked like it hadn’t tasted water for years.

“Attack me.” Skhy frowned at Homer whose expression didn’t give anything away. Skhy glanced at her friends who looked confused except for Faz who looked excited.

“Just…attack?” Skhy asked. Homer nodded. He looked bored like he wanted to be anywhere than in front of them.

A shadow flashed in Skhy’s peripheral vision. Faz’s quick movement didn’t affect Homer because he easily dodged Faz’s fist.

“I won’t be using my elementals or weapon,” Homer added before kicking Faz on the stomach making him fall to his knees. Skhy heard someone gasp behind him.

Clyne ran toward Homer screaming. When Homer ducked to dodge the blow, Clyne raised his leg to kick but Homer pushed his palm on Clyne’s chest. Clyne flew and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Skhy scanned Homer for any weaknesses. The knight was fast and light when he moved as if he wasn’t restricted by gravity despite having Earth elemental.

“Come on,” the knight said. Skhy met Aria’s blazing eyes before he moved. He ran passed Homer as Aria moved closer to him. She clenched her fist and aimed toward Homer’s face while Skhy turned to deliver another blow to his back. Homer stopped them by receiving Aria’s blow on his palm and turning to his side to dodge Skhy’s. The next seconds were a blur to Skhy but the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground on his chest. Looking up, he saw Tessa and Lei as they made their move with Tessa jumping on Homer’s back and Lei kicking his feet. Homer jumped before Lei’s leg collided with his and grabbed Tessa’s shoulders, dropping her to the ground like a sack of rice. Within a few minutes, the Seven were on the ground. Skhy heard Faz swear.

Homer shook his head, his black eyes showing a glint of disappointment.

“You are weak,” he said, earning another swear from Faz. “You depend on your elementals too much. You will be nothing without them.” A pang of hurt hit Skhy in his chest. His jaw tensed. His whole body trembled.

Homer rarely talked but his words were always direct to the point, without second-guessing, humour or hidden meaning. Despite the growing anger boiling inside of him, Skhy knew that his words hit home.

“You are wrong,” Tessa gritted her teeth, her golden eyes darkened to chocolate brown. “We might be weak but we’re not nothing without our elementals.” Homer tilted his head, his face still void of expression.

“Are you talking about your life before you learned about your elemental?” he asked, “Before you learned that your father is a Mortemian-made spy?” Skhy didn’t wait for Tessa’s reaction. He quickly stood up, his eyes warm from anger. Before he could advance, Faz lunged at Homer with incredible speed. His dark eyes met Skhy’s. Homer tilted to his left to avoid the blow but Faz turned, his other fist connected to Homer’s side. Homer’s eyes narrowed. But Faz wasn’t done yet. He twisted his leg around Homer’s leg, making the knight tumble a bit but he quickly recovered and pulled his leg. Homer pushed Faz who looked like he wanted to murder someone. Skhy couldn’t blame his friend. The knight’s words wounded Tessa.

It was Skhy’s turn to fight. While Homer’s attention was on Faz, he brought down his elbow on Homer’s shoulder which made the knight grunt. He spun and gripped Skhy’s collar. Before he could deliver a punch, Faz placed his arm around Homer’s neck, choking him. The knight’s grip loosen as Skhy delivered a painful blow on his stomach, making Homer cough. Instead of showing an expression of pain, he grinned.

“Guys, release him,” Tessa said. Faz and Skhy did. Adrenaline was still pulsing in Skhy’s veins as he watched Homer dust his jeans. He glanced at his friends; Faz was still glaring at the knight, Nate’s fists were clenched, Aria and Clyne stood in front of Lei who looked shaken and Tessa had an unreadable expression.

“That made you move,” the knight said, a small grin playing on his lips. “This time, you’ll fight individually.”

“We have to fight you one by one?” Clyne asked.

“No. Well, yes.” Skhy frowned. Before he could ask for an explanation, the ground shook under their feet. Tall blocks of earth raised from the ground, surrounding the Seven in a circle. Skhy watched as the blocks moved to form human figures until they resembled Homer’s height, built, features except their skin remained dry earth and colour remained grainy brown.

“Punching earth hurts,” Clyne murmured.

“What’s the goal?” Faz asked, his eyes remaining dangerously dark.

“Return them to the ground,” Homer answered, the grin had disappeared. After giving his friends a nod, Skhy ran, putting enough distance between him and his friends. A Homer-clone ran after him with heavy but quick steps. When Skhy was satisfied that he put enough space to fight, he turned toward his opponent who continued running toward him. The Homer-clone raised his arm when he neared Skhy. Skhy dodged the attack but the clone was quick to change his stance. Skhy received his first punch on his left shoulder, the pain felt like a fist-sized was thrown at him, making him grimace. He rolled away from the clone while gripping his aching shoulder. The clone didn’t give him time to rest because it tried to stomp on him like a cockroach. After he was able to stand again, he continued dodging the incoming punches but he knew that he had to strike to win. Dust and dry patches of earth fell on Skhy as he avoid its attack, making him squint because some entered his eyes. The distraction made it easier for the clone to make a hit. By the time the sun left the horizon, Skhy had received five punches, they made him tremble in pain.

His training in the Academy didn’t help much because they mostly use weapons if not their elementals. The armoury teachers seldom teach them to punch and escape an enemy’s grip. This fact frustrated Skhy.

Defeating the clone was more challenging than fighting Homer in person because its skin was hard and it didn’t feel anything. But Skhy wasn’t ready to give up.

The clone was about to land another punch but Skhy dropped to the ground and swung his leg, hitting its lower leg. He put all his strength to topple it. Its knee bent; the clone fell forward on its face. Skhy didn’t waste any time dropping on its back. He jumped on it three times before it started to stand. Skhy moved away, cursing that his weight wasn’t enough to break the earth it is made of. He looked around, his friends were still fighting the clones. When his gaze fell on a giant black rock between two trees, an idea formed in his mind. He turned around just as the clone’s shadow fell on him.

Skhy turned and ran toward the rock. He didn’t know if the idea would work but he had to try. He could hear the loud and heavy steps behind him. His muscles ached and he knew that he would last if he received more blows. He didn’t stop even when near the rock. His body hit on the smooth rock when the clone’s shadow enveloped his form. With a quick movement, he turned just as the clone’s body loudly crashed on the rock. He associated the sound to dry clay hitting the floor but ten times louder. The effect was instant. The moment it hit the rock, the body shattered discharging blocks of earth, sand, and dust. Skhy breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite his aching muscles, he turned and ran to check on his friends. He noticed Homer standing beside a pissed Faz.

“Nicely done,” Homer said without looking at him. Skhy wondered if the knight meant his words.

“The water girl is also done.” Faz looked relieved. Skhy turned toward the direction they were looking at. Tessa was walking slowly toward them; while the others were still engaged in combat.

“You’re not hurt?” Skhy asked when Tessa neared them. Her hair and clothes were wet but there were no wounds.

“No,” she answered quietly. Saddened that he didn’t bring a jacket with him, he stood closer to her to share his warmth. Faz did the same.

“Who’s next?” Homer asked no one in particular. Skhy checked his other friends. The farthest from them was Nate and the closest was Aria. Clyne kept punching the clone’s head while he was clinging to its back. Lei, who was near the trees, was dodging the attacks.

“What’s your name again?” Skhy looked up at Homer who looked appeared to be drowsy. His dark eyes glanced at Tessa. Skhy noticed a bruise forming on her arm, alarming Skhy.

“Tessa.” She found Skhy’s concerned eyes. Her golden orbs seemed to say that she is fine.

“You have to forgive me earlier,” Homer said, “I’m not a tactful person but I said that to provoke you to fight.” There was a hint of sadness in his dark eyes. A small frown formed on his lips.

“I knew that.” She blinked away the water that dripped from her hair to her eyes.

“Instead, everyone reacted.” He sounded amused. Tessa didn’t respond but it earned a glare from Faz.

“They have to hurry,” Homer said suddenly as he watched the remaining Regalis.

“Why?” Skhy asked.

“Next training is in an hour.” His muscle pains throbbed even more. Skhy felt his face paled.

The day had just begun and the Seven looked like they were on the verge of giving up.