be able to feel it. It is an inanimate object, yes, but it is still possible to sense it—and manipulate it if you have the aptitude for it. Now begin.”
There was a murmur of discontent.
Unlike his peers, Eridan was unbothered by the vague instructions. He always did better when he could just wing it. Rules and strict instructions were so damn stifling.
He cautiously stretched his senses and winced, trying to block out his classmates’ emotions.
“You look constipated. Don’t hurt yourself.”
Eridan gritted his teeth, determined to ignore Xhen. Fuck that dickhead.
“I’ve heard Master Idhron spoke to Initiate Daylinne yesterday. He’ll probably ditch you for her. No wonder. She isn’t a failure.”
Eridan glowered at the rock, his hands balling into fists. Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him.
“Your jealousy is showing,” Eridan bit out, pasting on a smile that probably looked a little feral. “Piss off.”
Xhen smirked. “Did I hit a nerve? Wait, is that actually true that he hasn’t come to see you in years? Seriously?” He laughed.
And Eridan’s vision turned red.
The next thing he knew, Xhen was choking, his eyes bulging out as he tried to breathe, hands wildly grasping at his own throat.
“Initiate Eridan!”
Master Ferev’s voice was like a bucket of cold water.
Eridan flinched and looked around, registering the stares of his classmates.
He looked back at Xhen, who was taking greedy breaths now that he wasn’t choking anymore.
Had he… had he done that? Choked Xhen? With his will alone?
With rising trepidation, Eridan lifted his gaze to Master Ferev’s.
The instructor was staring at him. His face was blank, but his emotions were slipping through the cracks in his shields. Amazement, confusion, and… apprehension.
Eridan swallowed.
“Class, you are to return to your assignment while I’m gone,” Master Ferev said at last, still looking at Eridan. “Eridan, with me.”
His stomach in knots, Eridan followed the instructor out of the classroom.
They walked in silence, Eridan a few steps behind the man, as was proper. He had his eyes fixed on Master Ferev’s gray robes, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what had just happened and where Master Ferev was taking him.
They had already left the school’s building and were walking toward the Inner Districts of Hronthar.
Eridan frowned, confused and curious in equal measure. In all his years of living in Hronthar, he’d never been to the Inner Districts. The initiates and younger children all lived and studied in the town’s Outer District, or District O, as they called it. Immediately after District O, there was the largest district, District One, where the servicing department of the Order was located. The other four districts were for actual members of the High Hronthar Order: Masters, Master Acolytes, and their apprentices. The apprentices lived in District Two, with Masters living in the more central districts. District Five, or simply High Hronthar, was the castle located on the hill in the center of the town, inhabited only by the Grandmaster of the Order.
Eridan stared at Master Ferev’s back, wondering if he should ask where they were going.
A burst of wind made Eridan shiver and cross his arms over his chest, trying to ward off the chill coming from the surrounding mountains. Although Calluvia’s climate was artificially controlled and kept warm all year round, it didn’t feel like it, not up here. Eridan had left Hronthar only a few times in his life, and each time he was amazed how warm the rest of the planet was.
It was beautiful up here, though. Hronthar was located in a highland valley surrounded by mountains and forests. The scenery was breathtaking. The sun filtering through the ancient trees made Eridan smile a little.
“I wouldn’t be smiling if I were you, Eridan,” Master Ferev said.
Eridan snapped his gaze to him. “What do you mean, Master?”
Master Ferev sighed. He was a man around thirty—pretty young for a Master Acolyte—so he wasn’t as intimidating as most Masters were.
“What do you think you just did to your fellow initiate?” Master Ferev said.
Eridan frowned. “I guess I did some form of telekinesis, right?”
Master Ferev laughed.
Eridan stared at him. “Did I say something amusing?” he said in a bewildered voice.
“Do you know that only one percent of telepaths can do any form of telekinesis?” Master Ferev said, without looking at him.
They were passing through District Two, and Eridan looked around curiously. There were all sorts of houses and apartment buildings in here, ranging in size and luxury. Eridan wondered how the apprentices were assigned their living accommodations. The rumor said that it depended on how high-ranking