Cyrus Solaris
I glanced at my watch, nine thirty. I deferred doing extra training. Finding a gift for the nurse felt more important.
I picked up my things, grabbed a jacket, and made my way to the bridge.
I got a few wary looks from my housemates. I paid them no mind. This time, I walked slowly across the bridge, letting the breeze slowly propel me forward.
The entire time, I thought about what someone from the Valador region would like, but I kept drawing blanks, remembering that I hadn't spent much time with the people in general. But I did have some of Adam's memories. Now that I met his sister, more of those memories started to resurface.
She liked lilies; they were a flower their father would grow and give her on her birthday. We didn't have a flower shop on campus, but we had a greenhouse, which was closed off to everyone who wasn't a vitalist.
I scrolled through the Isle's map legend, searching for anything that might help. Then I saw it, a flower garden in the courtyard. I hurried off the bridge and headed straight for the south pavilion.
When I got to the courtyard, there stood a grove encircling a massive tree. Flowers crowded its base, roses, tulips, marigolds, sunflowers, a burst of color layered over one another.
But no lilies.
I circled the trunk, its bark thick and rigid, easily eight feet across.
Towards the back, I saw what I was looking for, but its state was poor. All the lilies were withered, except one.
It's not what I wanted, but it will have to do.
When I leaned down to pluck the flower, something caught my eye. There were etchings in the bark, jagged and worn, fading over years of erosion, but I could still make it out.
Many unrecognizable names were written; however, one stood out: a surname of the great families, preceded by a singular initial.
Slytharion. So many questions ran through my brain. I didn't have time to think about it; I needed to get back to my room before curfew.
As I was leaving the courtyard, I saw another person lying in the grass; this time, their arms were crossed behind their head. A sigh of relief left my body.
Glad that there wasn't another kid I would have to report to the nurse department. As I walked past the kid, I noticed a pair of binoculars lying next to him.
Several thoughts ran through my head. But I tried my best to push them aside.
"You're an astronomer, aren't you?" a voice said, pulling me from my thoughts.
I turned and found Stravos, a small, miniature figure resting on his shoulder that resembled his Titan.
Currently, Stravos was the frontrunner in the rankings, and someone whom I never got the chance to defeat, and I wanted to, bad.
"Yeah, I am, but I feel like you knew that."
"Care to help me find a few things?" The request for help confused me. He was a cold-hearted person, someone who was brutal to others.
This gentle personality felt alien. I stood there, still like the stone statues that surrounded us.
"Can you help or not?" I stopped him there.
"Yes, I can, but why should I?" Stravos tilted his head.
"For the love of the stars, I heard you often stare up in the night sky." The fact he knew that worried me. Did he have spies in our house, or does that toy sneak around for him?
"You, Stravos, the prince of the Vortaris clan, like star gazing?"
"Why is that so hard to believe?"
"You look like you would much rather spend your time pillaging villages."
"I like doing that too, of course. But I am human, you know. I grew up as most do. People to tend to my needs. Honor that I was taught to protect and uphold. A loving mother… and a father." Stravos said, standing before me, eyeing me down.
"But my mother is the one who told me stories about the stars, before she passed."
That gave me pause.
"Why don't you do this at your house?"
"There are things a warrior and a leader should always keep to themselves."
"And what are you doing here right now?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"It's respect for a fellow warrior. I come from a family of conquerors, and if there's one thing we honor, it's strength. You possess qualities even members of my own branch lack.
Your actions during the totem games, and the joint house exercise have caused people to call you erratic. I saw something different, in the Vortaris way of life; we don't have friends. We have soldiers and people who wait for our command. We seldom have rivals, because everyone looks up to us. Not you, though. You refuse to be looked down on."
There was a moment of silence, our eyes locked on each other. But in his eyes, I didn't see disgust and pity; I saw acknowledgment.
"One day, I'll challenge the strongest Starbounds in this world. I'll defeat them all, and I'll become the greatest Vortaris to ever live."
Hearing his words made me realize maybe he wasn't that different from me.
Maybe my perception of him was off.
He was a person set on achieving his goal.
Just like me.
"What about you, Cyrus, what do you dream of when you gaze at the stars?"
"Nothing grand like you. I just want to defeat a single person, and I won't stop until I obtain it."
"You sure you're not a Vortaris love child?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Show me the formation you are looking for." Stravos tossed the binoculars at me and walked over with his tablet.
Professor Rhondall told us that astronomers call star formations in the sky, asterisms, and the one Stravos was looking for is called Tiberius's Hill. Apparently, Tiberus was a great warrior during the era of man over five thousand years ago. It was stated that he claimed a mountain as his throne. Well, that's the story Stravos told me, at least.
I found the asterism near the planet Wotanheim, one of nine planets in our solar system.
Stravos seemed pleased that I helped him find the formation.
The tension between us thinned, but it didn't disappear.
Even as he turned away, my muscles stayed tight. My body hadn't forgotten what he could do.
Still, there was something different now. Not hostility. Not quite trust either.
Recognition.