Chapter 9 - Training School

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The breathtaking sight of Aaron filled my vision. The fluttering blond hair and blue eyes. Of course, his dragon was a sun dragon. That’s why his cloak had a sun picture.  

“Aria?” he turned around.

“D-Dragonkeeper Aaron.” I tried hard not to stutter but I was too nervous.

“No formalities, please. Aaron is fine.” The side of his lips lifted up to give a half-smile.

“What happened?” I didn’t remember anything but some clawed creature that saved me from…Faris. I remembered Aaron saying that creepy guy’s name.

“I was…hunting down Faris, the Soul Eater that attacked you. Then I found you…” Aaron ruffled his blond hair and dismissed the elderly man with a wave.

“Did you see the…thing that saved me?”

Aaron was puzzled.

“What…thing? When I arrived, you were there and Faris was missing.”  He handed me a glass of water to drink. I accepted it gratefully. His cloak brushed against my elbow and I felt the softness of the material.

I gulped down the water and felt the water settle in my stomach.

“That’s your familiar?” Aaron nodded his head at Ren.

“Yeah. He’s name is Ren.”

“Ren?”

“Well his full name is Renevyere Luminova Stellaruis”

“That’s an…interesting name.”

Ren was very quiet, strangely. He was usually the one to flaunt and arrogantly boast. Maybe he was shy.

Ren jumped down from my shoulder into my open arms.

“Where’s Andre? Was he alright?”

“He’s at home already. We already purged the poison of Serpenta.”

“Oh…” I was relieved.

“Where’s your dragon…?” I was at complete ease with him. He just had a way to calm my nerves and set my mind at ease.

“Talon’s down in the garden. He can’t exactly fit here in the mansion.”

After a short silence, he finally spoke.

“There’s something I would like to discuss with you. If you could just sit down there…” He motioned to one of the couches.

I settled down there, feeling the softness of the cushion. I let Ren rest on my lap. What did he want to say…? I uneasily sat there, playing with the sleeve of my shirt. I could feel nervousness invading me again.

“You see, Faris doesn’t attack just anyone. To…uhm…eat their souls. The fact that Faris is after your soul, specifically, means something is special about you.”

I kept silent.

“Souls, when eaten, grant the Soul Eater extra years to live. Extend their life, you could put it that way. Red souls give about 10 years. Yellow souls give about 20. It goes up all the way to white souls, which give about 100 years. Silver souls give 200 years. Golden souls give 500 years. That’s almost five extra lives.”

“Faris would never hunt anyone in the open. There is just too much to risk. He knows I am hunting him, so he keeps a low profile, usually. By just attacking you in the open, he must have been desperate because your soul must have been worth a lot.”

“He doesn’t let off his prey very often so I am proposing a training program for you. It is simply not safe to let you go now that he is out there looking for you. You don’t want to die, do you? Basically you will be given training to teach you to defend yourself. You will have to go to the training center and stay there. You will also be safer there with people to protect you.”

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