Rolling my eyes, I turned to face the sound of the voice. He stood above me, although he was shorter by a few inches.

“I'm sure we will all do well tomorrow, Norm,” I replied, turning my attention back to the lamb that Nesto grabbed for me.

“Who is we?” Norm said, his smirk practically glued there.

“We, as in all of us who need practice,” I muttered.

“Is that so? So tell me, what's your affinity, Kroven? I’m sure it’s a good one.”

“I don't have one, Norm. You know that,” I said seriously, not letting him get to me.

“Hey, Norm,” Nesto called.

Norm looked over, about to open his mouth, but was hit by an assortment of stewed vegetables, including the liquid. Nesto’s hands gripped the wooden spoon.

“Pfft—shit, that was perfect.”

Nesto’s laughing made everyone at the table look over. Putting the pieces together, everyone soon joined in. Even I couldn’t help but let out a few giggles.

Norm wiped off his face with his hand. He was beyond angry. If it wasn't for Ms. Lena, he wouldn't have hesitated in throwing a few lathium-enhanced punches Nesto’s way. Instead, he just smiled.

“Good shot, Nesto,” he said, unballing his fists and heading back to his seat, not before giving me a dirty look.

Of course, I turned to Nesto, who was rubbing the tears away from his eyes.

“You get a good laugh, Nesto?” I asked before putting another piece of cut-up lamb in my mouth.

“Absolutely, he deserved it,” Nesto replied. “I mean, seriously, he constantly picks on you just because you don’t have an affinity. I mean, Lathium still runs through your blood just like the rest of us. I don’t see the issue.”

Nesto continued while leaning over, grabbing the last two hot cakes, putting one on my plate, and taking the last for himself.

“I don’t know. Maybe it is an issue. I mean, how many people do you know who don't have an affinity?” I argued.

Nesto finished his last hot cake.

“Reshenford is a small town,” he said after swallowing.

“So?” I said, resting my hand on my head.

“So the land of Mozoa is huge. There could be plenty of people like you. Just wait until we end up in Rosalia,” he said, smiling.

I couldn’t help but smile back. He always could cheer me up when I felt down, even when I had been brought here for the first time by Ms. Lena.

“All the lamb is gone,” Nesto said in disappointment, reaching for another piece.

“Here, Nesto,” I said, stabbing one of the pieces of lamb with the wooden fork and putting it on his plate. “Maybe if you didn't just inhale all of the hot cakes, you would have been able to grab some lamb too.”

Nesto immediately started to tear into the lamb.

“This is amazing, Kroven,” Nesto said with his mouth full.

After all the food was gone, Ms. Lena walked to the head of the room again.

“Alright, now that everyone is done eating, if anyone has a gift for Kroven’s 15th birthday, be prepared to give it to him. Kroven, come up here.”

Ms. Lena waved me over. The last thing I wanted to do was have a bunch of eyes piercing through me. I got up and dragged myself to the front of the room.

“Alright, anyone who has a gift for Kroven, please come up to the front of the room.”

Three chairs scooted backward simultaneously. The three walked to the head of the room, gifts in hand.

“In a line,” Ms. Lena added before walking to the side of the room where the other disciples lingered.

“Here, Kroven,” a short girl with brown hair in a bun said while handing me a slim rod of wood with a piece of black lead in the middle. “Teccin” was engraved into the side of it.

“A brand new Teccin, Selina?” I looked at her in surprise. “Where could you have—”

“That’s a secret, Kroven,” Selina said, cutting me off. “Enjoy the gift.”

She then turned and walked back to the brown table, still looking down at the Teccin with surprise. Suddenly, a rectangular object landed on the top of my head. My eyes wandered up to the object.

“Ossuary Guide for the Bare” was written in small print at the bottom of the hardcover. The object then backed away.

“I thought you would like this, Kroven,” a soft voice said.

As I looked up, I saw her face—a slight smile, long black hair falling past her shoulders, and green vermillion eyes passing through me, making me shiver.

“Y-yeah,” I stuttered, not fully paying attention to the gift.

“You said you would like to learn more about Lathium.”

Looking down at the book, I jolted back, refocusing on the words. A smile ran across my face.

“Where did you find this, Vira?” I said while my fingers flipped through the pages. Different drawings of Ossuary bone weapons held so much information that it made my skin crawl in excitement.

“I had some help, but don’t worry about that. I know this will keep you busy, though.”

She then turned and walked towards Ms. Lena. I was so confused. Where are they getting these gifts? My mind was racing with thoughts, but nothing made sense.

“Here.”

Three boxes of lathium fuzes landed on top of the book. Nesto looked at me with a big smile.

“I know you love those candles in your room, especially since you have it all to yourself.”

He then gave me a quick side hug before heading back to his seat.

Ms. Lena then walked up to me, and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Vira heading back to her seat. Putting her hands on my shoulders, Ms. Lena called out to the rest of the Disciples in training:

“Alright, everyone. Now that this surprise party is over, this room is gonna need a little cleaning.”

Vira stood up.

“Nesto and I can handle the dishes.”

“What!” Nesto shouted.

“Excellent. Would anyone volunteer to help them?”

Selina raised her hand.

“I can help.”

“Thank you, Selina. Now, the rest of you, please assist Sister Allison in cleaning the dining room.”

“Yes, Ms. Lena.”

With that, everyone dispersed with haste, except for Nesto, whom Selina had to practically drag to the kitchen.

“Kroven,” Ms. Lena said, turning me to face her. “Things are gonna be different from now on. These classes are gonna be tremendously difficult.”

Her usual smile was gone, replaced with a more serious look.

“I still have Lathium,” I said, trying to argue her worries.

“Regardless, if there's anything I can do—”

I pushed her hands off my shoulders.

“I don’t need any special treatment, Ms. Lena. I’m not one of the forgotten.”

She sighed.

“You’re right.”

She looked me up and down.

“You can go wash up first. Don’t take too long.”

“Thank you, Ms. Lena.”

I then turned to walk away.

“One more thing, Kroven.”

I turned my head to face her. She gave me a warm smile.

“Happy Birthday.”

I gave her a quick nod and went on my way.

The hot water droplets quickly rolled off my skin, the constant spraying from the shower head making it a continuous cycle. The blood runes lined horizontally along the wooden piping glowed blue before turning blood red again, the hot water slowly warming, indicating that the runes needed to be turned off.

Letting the water run through my hair one last time, I leaned over, setting my finger on the closest rune to me. Closing my eyes, I let the connection lock into the blood in my finger, which grew hotter. The water slowly stopped, and the runes turned dark red.

I left the shower, took the nicely folded cloth, and dried myself off. Then I wrapped it around the lower half of my body and walked over to the reflective glass.

The wetness of my hair made it look even darker than before, which further contrasted my pale skin. Although I wasn't super small, I didn't look even close to intimidating.

Ms. Lena’s words floated into my mind.

Tremendously difficult.

Letting out a sigh, I quickly got dressed in my after-hours clothes, which I liked more than my in-training uniform.

As I was giving myself one more look in the glass, a few knocks came at the door.

“Kroven, are you done?” Selina shouted.

I opened the door.

“Yeah, all yours,” I said while walking out of the room.

“Thanks,” she shouted before slipping inside.

Walking down the wooden corridor, I passed both the Disciples men's and the In-Training men's living areas. A little door at the end of the hallway was my destination.

I opened the door, making the hinges squeak. I slipped inside, closing the door behind me.

The room couldn't be more than two of me lined up side to side. The only things the room could fit were a bed, a chest at the foot of the bed, and a nightstand. The area was a tight fit, but that was fine. It was more than I deserved.

I moved to my bed, taking a seat at the top. I took the candle on my nightstand and lit it with one of the fuzes, giving myself some extra light.

I then picked up the hardcover book that was given to me by Vira.

“Ossuary Guides for the Bare.”

I flipped to the first page.

“Knowing Your Relics, Chapter 1,” I muttered, then continued reading.

When all Sanctum children turn 15, they are introduced to the Unset, or a more common term, unblessed relics. They will then be given three relics to choose from: Splinter, two short dull blades; Shard, a semi-long double-edged blade; and Needle, a long lathumite rod with a pointed tip at the end. None of these weapons can cause serious harm. They are for training purposes and only used to help one achieve a higher level of control over their lathium.

My eyes widened.

“What does that mean?”

I ran my finger under the line of words.

Achieve a higher level of control over their lathium.

I muttered slowly.

Does that mean I could get stronger with relics?

Do I not need an affinity?

But of course I needed an affinity. Still, there was a chance I had one. It’s way too late.

“Dammit.”

I sat back down on my bed, taking a deep breath. I lay back, letting my thoughts settle. Even if I did have a boost in power, it would still be trumped by someone with an affinity.

“I shouldn't let my thoughts take control of me.”

I pushed myself back up and reached for the hardcover of the book, letting my eyes wander through the pages. Eventually, I flipped a couple more.

“The Unhallowed Relics” was written at the top in big bold words, bolder than any other. Looking down, there was practically nothing written, which made it kinda eerie.

Unhallowed Relics are forbidden and are to be reported immediately. If you or someone you know is having strange dreams, visit your nearest sanctum immediately.

A chill ran through my body.

“Now what could that mean?”

My fingers flipped through the pages.

Is there anything else?

Every page had something different about how relics worked, how to connect better with relics, and even how affinities could help relics—but nothing about Unhallowed Relics.

“Should I ask Vira about this?” I uttered.

As soon as the thought left my mouth, three light knocks came from my door.

“Kroven, we have late-night worships,” a muffled voice said.

“Coming!” I shouted.

I closed the book and put it on the nightstand.

Tomorrow.