For a while, Adan and Lynn silently rocked back and forth in the carriage that made its way down the uneven forest road. Adan remained silent, because it looked like Lynn was deciding how much he should tell her, or perhaps more accurately, how little she knew.

The longer Lynn considered where to start, the less irritation was present in his eyes. He eventually shook his head.

“If your parents are unmarked, I suppose that means you don’t really know anything about . . . well, anything, so I’ll start from the beginning. For the people of Solmani, every child is born element marked – women by water, men by fire. There basically is no exception to this, contrary to your people, where children are often unmarked and only the men can bear the mark.

“Naturally, there are degrees of how strong a marking is; when born, everyone’s mark has the same size and shape, but as one grows older some marks intensify, possibly even crystallize. For Solmanean’s it’s fairly rare, although not for the marked of your people–don’t interrupt!” Lynn snapped as Adan was about to ask a question.

Chuckling, Adan said nothing.

“Good. Now, while I said there is no exception to being touched by either fire or water, that is not entirely true – there is one other possibility. History speaks of women who have been touched by something much more powerful than water; ice.”

Lynn tapped his crystal.

“You’re joking!” Adan exclaimed, feigning shock and amazement.

“I am not. History tells us that while they are rare the ulcujawo are incomparably strong; capable of freezing over entire battlefields with but a thought.”

Now this caused Adan to genuinely raise an eyebrow in surprise. Judging by Lynn’s tone, he had no doubt that the legends were true. Such abilities would really be impressive, even by Adan’s standards, and it would also be entirely unheard of in the universe, as far as she knew.

“Needless to say,” Lynn continued, sounding a bit despondent, “my future skills are highly sought after by everyone, the king included. Unfortunately, while the tales of female ulcujawo are impressive beyond belief, there is also another legend connected to the ulcujawo. Perhaps, twidorlua is a better word than legend actually. . .”

Lynn steeled himself, clearly coming to the important part of his story and suddenly hesitating if he should say anything at all. Adan on the other hand was too busy consulting with her A.I. about the supposed prowess of these ulcujawo – ‘ice bender’ most likely – to bother egging him on. When Lynn finally spoke again, his voice was tense and dramatic.

“When a man is born with winter’s core, the world shall split and the end begin.”

[Hidden weapon detected – threat level negligible]

The warning message flashed by Adan’s eyes as Lynn finished his sentence, a glowing ring outlining a blade that was tightly clenched in a hand hidden within the fabric of his clothes. Adan met Lynn’s tense stare and couldn’t help but frown in confusion.

“Is that it?” she asked, suppressing a chuckle. Clearly the phrase meant something to the people here, but ‘superstitious’ was not a trait of the Amazon Platoon.

“What do you mean, is that it!? That line is from the Book of Elements; the Priests of the Sun and the Priestesses of the Moons see it as law! Tales of ice-marked males who come to destroy the world are used to scare children into submission!” Lynn was hissing harshly, doing his best not to break out in angry shouting. “Can you at least guess what would happen to my family and me if anyone learned I’m male? Boys born with even the slightest discoloration in their fire marks are usually imprisoned or even killed, just to be safe – their parents, too. I’m a full-fledged ice bender!”

“So your parents raised you as a woman, keeping you safe, but now you’ve become . . .” Adan paused, not knowing the word for ‘betrothed; “you will have to marry one of the very people who want you dead, simply because female ice benders are too precious? Tricky situation,” Adan mused, nodding in understanding. “I also suppose simply running away or opposing to the marriage is out of the question. . . . It would be suspicious and perhaps even a crime, right?”

Lynn stared at her with wide eyes, clearly not expecting the straightforward and unbiased response he was given to the secret he had been keeping his entire life. Adan noticed the complex emotions stirring within the young man and gave him a lopsided smile.

“A man’s abilities doesn’t define him; what he chooses to do with them does. Some of us are simply . . . less free in our choices.”

“. . .”

Both Lynn and Adan’s A.I. considered her words, but while Lynn missed the underlying meaning, the A.I. did not.

“Adan. . .” it started, but Adan interrupted the female voice in her head before it could say more.

“It’s fine, Sai,” she assured, shrugging slightly.

In front of her, Lynn slowly released the grip on his hidden blade, his body relaxing. The look he gave Adan was no longer one of tensed frustration, but rather relief – although he did his best to hide it with a frown.

This time Adan actually laughed. “Decided you won’t kill me, after all?”

“I wasn’t g-. . .” Adan’s knowing smile caused Lynn to stop his excuse. “I couldn’t take any chances.”

“Really? If this ice bender thing truly is such a big deal, I’m surprised you didn’t run me through with that blade of yours while I was busy fighting off your supposed kidnappers.”

“Not from lack of trying, remember?” Lynn snapped. “There just wasn’t enough time.” Lynn paused, fiddling with the golden velvet curtains covering the carriage’s only window, his eyes grew a bit distant. “Besides, I am running out of options and you seemed . . . less superstitious than normal,” he said after a while.

Adan raised an eyebrow.

“Only four people alive know the truth about me, but while I trust them with my life, I can still feel their fear of me.”

He paused and then suddenly snorted and faced Adan, a breathtaking yet cocky smile on his handsome face. “I find your ignorance refreshing, vibkywj.”

Adan blinked a few times and then broke out laughing. Lynn joined her, his laughter deeper and more alluring than Adan’s melodious canter.

Lynn’s amusement quickly faded, though, and he pulled out his dagger in full view, pointing it at Adan with a serious look. “That does, however, not mean that I forgive you, nor that I won’t kill you without hesitation if I must. You will use your no doubt impressive fire bending skills to help me escape before the wedding, vibkywj, or I’ll make sure to take you down with me.”

Adan suppressed her laughter, replacing it with a calm smile that didn’t falter under such pointless threats, but she made no comment on the folly behind his vow. Instead she shook her head slowly. “I’m afraid I have to disappoint you, miss Lynn, I have none of these fire bending skills you talk about.”

“Of course you don’t,” Lynn half laughed, half sighed. “You have yet to be awakened, just like me. How could I possibly even pretend to be kidnapped otherwise?”

“Awakened?” Adan asked, playing the ignorant card to its fullest.

“Seriously, ywno’blk, even if your parents are unmarked, they must have told you something about fire benders; I thought story telling was a big thing among your people. . . Listen, as long as a mark is still developing, the element within cannot be controlled. Only once the growth has stabilized is it safe for a priest or priestess to open the path to one’s element core. This is the awakening,” Lynn explained, being oddly thorough considering the annoyed tone of his voice.

“The stronger your mark is, the older will you be when it’s time for the awakening. Fortunately, sex and marriage between the marked are strictly forbidden until one is awakened, sparing me from marriage so far but I’m out of luck now that my core has stabilized. I’m twenty-five this year, which is considered old for an awakening – how old are you?”

Adan didn’t reply right away. In Federation terms, she was only 5.2 years of age, but how that translated to actual years on different planets was dependent on said planet’s orbit. She also aged differently from most people.

“Considering the observed movement of this solar system’s central star, as well as this planet’s gravitation and magnetic field, Sai estimates your age to be roughly 19.8 years.”

“Soon twenty,” Adan summarized, causing Lynn’s eyes to widen.

“And your mark is that large? Is it stable?”

“Sai has detected no growth of the crystallized Materia X since its fusion with your sternum,” the A.I. informed again.

Adan shrugged noncommittally.

“Ho’ckaw, ywno’blk, you’re sick!”

Adan frowned. “Neither am I sick, nor nameless,” she pointed out, growing tired of the constant nicknames her translating program couldn’t keep up with. “Call me Adan or nothing at all! What is a ywno’blk anyway?” she asked, realizing a little too late that the question would likely permanently put her in the stupid-section; Lynn’s expression told her she was right.

“How can you not even know the name of your own people?” he asked back, disbelieving, but after thinking about it for a while he actually seemed to find an excuse for it. “Then again, your kind usually don’t refer to yourselves as ywno’blk . . . . sun people, was it?” Lynn mused more to himself than to Adan. He grunted. “Listen, ywno’blk is my nation’s name for people like you; people from the old clans that roamed this land before the current king’s forefathers arrived nearly two hundred years ago, bringing my people to live here and building cities and roads. Since the ywno’blk were the old residents of this place, it’s a rather fitting name, I think; the original people, the ancient ones.”

Understanding dawned on Adan. Cases where one race or culture was pushed aside by an other, stronger, one were more numerous than the stars in the universe. Most likely, these ywno’blk – the Ancient Ones – were simply a branch of this planet’s humans, with minor to no genetic differences. However, lower technical advancement or their lower tendency to give birth to the so-called element marked children might have made them vulnerable to the surrounding forces, leading to them losing their land.

This might also explain Duke Kimba’s strained smiles towards his future queen. Usually, a weaker culture’s fall under a stronger one was a bloody affair. Perhaps the Duke’s title was more of a formality, helping to mediate between the past and present owners of this land.

“So what is your plan?” Adan asked, deciding to change the subject.

The question seemed like a bucket of cold water over Lynn’s head, instantly sobering him up. “There isn’t much we can do now, not before I’m awakened at least. ”

He said it with confidence, but for a moment something else flickered in his eyes—fear again, yes, but also something closer to grief.  “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be hated just for surviving? To be called salvation and apocalypse in the same breath?” Then it was gone. The arrogance slid back into place like a well worn glove.

“So,” he snapped, “will you help me or not? Hopefully, you can be awakened too and then we stage another kidnapping.”

“And if I can’t?” Adan pushed.

Lynn looked out the window solemnly, not answering.

“Better disgraced than dead. . . .” he muttered after a while, but so quietly that Adan assumed he didn’t want her to hear him.

She pretended that she hadn’t heard anything and remained silent. In her mind she conferred with her A.I. “What do you think, Sai? Should I follow this prince-slash-princess to their capital and help him escape his fate?” The dramatic flair to her words was even more apparent when she communicated directly with her mind.

“It’s against regulation,” the A.I. replied as matter-of-factly as always, but then added: “However, Sai is concerned about this fire and ice manipulation; if it is really possible to spur this ability from the fragment of Materia X in your chest, the Federation would prioritize the investigation into the matter.”

A crooked smile formed on Adan’s lips. Her A.I. really was different from her sister’s; constantly helping her find loopholes in the very rules it should be making sure Adan followed. It might complain about it, but Adan had long since learned that ‘Sai’ was even more curious about the ways of the universe than she was.

“How likely do you think it is that I can be awakened into a fire bender?”

“At first, Sai calculated it as practically impossible. However, after hearing Mr. Lynn’s explanation, Sai made another scan of your body and must admit that the probability of it working is no longer negligible.”

“Really?” Adan couldn’t help but feel a bit excited by the notion of being able to directly control fire, even with the extra examinations and experiments she would have to live through if she ever made it back home. “What changed?”

A three-dimensional hologram appeared in front of Adan’s eyes, slowly rotating.

It displayed a cluster of her blood cells—two-thirds a deep, oxygen-rich red, and the remainder a golden hue unique to her BioGen lineage. She’d seen this split before. What caught her eye now was the luminescent copper sheen outlining the yellow cells. Thin as a molecular filament, but uniform. Controlled. Spreading.

The view zoomed in. Individual molecules came into focus. Iron-oxygen chains. Sulfur-gold complexes. And around them, that same shimmering membrane—one she’d seen before in the DNA of the locals.

“Sai has identified an emergent protein-lipid hybrid membrane encasing a percentage of your BioGen cells,” the A.I. explained. “Its chemical signature is consistent with the unidentified substance found in local humanoid DNA—detected during prior sampling.”

Adan raised an eyebrow. “How long has it been like this?”

“The anomaly first appeared approximately 1,403 circulatory cycles ago. The membrane has since increased its presence by 7.9% per cycle.”

“If the trend continues, Sai projects your bloodstream will exhibit higher membrane concentration than 99.2% of native samples within 842 cycles.”

The hologram shifted, now displaying a full-body rendering. The glow was contained—for now—within the vascular system. But Sai’s models projected thin tracer lines, reaching outward from the heart and major arteries, toward organ systems, nerves, synaptic tissue.

“Diffusion beyond hematological boundaries has not yet occurred. However, based on molecular affinity modeling, full systemic propagation is highly probable.”

“Is it dangerous?” Adan asked.

There was a pause—rare, from her A.I.

“Sai has detected no immediate indicators of cytotoxicity or immune response. However, this membrane exhibits resistance to nanoscopic interface. Sai cannot penetrate or fully analyze its structure.”

“Sai is… concerned.”

Adan blinked.

Her A.I. had calculated the deaths of thousands with surgical indifference. Concern wasn’t standard protocol.

“Could you stop staring? It’s unnerving.” Lynn’s sudden voice caused Adan to snap out of her wonder at the changes within her. Refocusing her gaze, Adan realized that, from Lynn’s point of view, she really had been staring at him.

“Sorry,” she muttered and turned her gaze away.

“For you to stare at a guy like that . . . were there really no Solmaneans where you grew up?”

Adan chuckled and gave her first honest “no” since she came to this planet.

Previous Chapter | Start | Next Chapter