The morning sun peeked over the rolling hills surrounding Verdantis, casting long golden streaks over the city's cobblestone streets. The city was alive with excitement, for today was the day that Tetsuo Hikaruzaki, beloved prince of Verdantis, would depart for Starfall Academy: the prestigious institution that had served as a benchmark for some of the strongest, smartest, and most successful people in the current society.
Before he left, a small send-off party had been arranged in the palace courtyard. Citizens gathered, cheering for their young prince. Musicians played lively tunes, and the smell of roasted delicacies filled the air. Tetsu moved among the people, shaking hands, accepting gifts, and laughing with the children who idolised him.
"Take care, Tetsu!" shouted an elderly merchant, handing him a small pouch of coins. "And remember, Verdantis is always proud of you!"
"I won't forget!" Tetsu replied, grinning. "I'll make you all proud!"
His mother, Princess Homura, approached him, her face a mixture of pride and concern. "Tetsuo, the royal carriage waits for you at the city gates. Guards are prepared to escort you safely. Please—don't be reckless."
Tetsu bowed lightly. "Of course, Mother. I'll be careful… well, mostly." He winked, and she sighed, clearly unconvinced.
************
The royal carriage rolled out of the city gates, and Tetsu sat among the luxurious cushions, pretending to be on a typical royal journey. The guards flanked the carriage, keeping pace along the road leading out of Verdantis.
But once the carriage passed the last watchtower of the capital, Tetsu quickly ordered his chauffeur to stop the vehicle. "I need you to help bring my luggage over to the academy all by yourself", he said.
"And what about you, my lord?" the chauffeur asked. Tetsu replied, grabbing his bagpack, "I want to enjoy a good road trip, so I'll be hiking "The chauffeur, now confused by this, asked the young prince ", But your mother said I shou—"
"Please don't tell my mom! Tetsu exclaimed. This'll just be between you and me"
He then jumps off the paved road and into the woods "I'll be right with you, don't worry"
He dusted himself off and grinned. "Now for the actual journey", he says.
**************
The first hour of hiking was bliss. Birds chirped overhead. The occasional rabbit scuttled across the path. Tetsu hummed a tune, twirling his twin sai absentmindedly. It was… peaceful.
Until he realised he had no idea where he was going.
"Okay… so maybe ditching the carriage wasn't the brightest idea," he muttered, glancing at the winding forest trails that all looked suspiciously alike. "Great, I'm officially lost."
As if on cue, a branch snapped behind him. He spun around, twin sai raised instinctively. Out of the undergrowth emerged a girl with fiery red hair tied into a loose braid, carrying a bow that seemed almost alive in her hands. Her green eyes glimmered with a mix of mischief and wariness.
"Are you lost?" she said, voice light but cautious.
Tetsu blinked. "Uh… yeah. And you are?"
"I'm Kaede. Keisuke Kaede," she replied, giving him a small, almost sly smile. "And you are…?"
"Tetsuo. Tetsuo Hikaruzaki. And currently lost." He gestured vaguely at the trees surrounding them.
Kaede's eyebrows rose, "Hikaruzaki? As in the royal house of Verdantis Hikaruzaki? she asked, leading him out of the bushes. "Yup. Prince Tetsuo Hikaruzaki at your service," he says, bowing halfway down.
"Are you heading for the Academy?" asked Kaede.
Surprised by how she knew, Tetsu replied, " How'd you know that? I don't remember saying anything about it. Kaede looked at him with a smug look on her face "If you wanted to hide it, you didn't do a good jo,b and besides, I'm heading there too". Tetsu brought out a bottle of water " Not bad. You're perceptive"
"Well, Prince Lost, you picked a dangerous path. That's not a road—it's a Judas track. It doesn't lead to the Academy," Kaede said.
"Judas track… ?"Tetsu asked. It means it's a trap. Robbers always lurk on that path waiting for people like you, and you can't fight them off because they make sure to drug their victims"
"Right. Thanks." Tetsu gave a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head. "How do you know so much about them, though? Kaede looked away from his gaze and into the distance" It's none of your business. Why are you on your own? Where are your guards?"
"I ditched my carriage and ordered my chauffeur to bring my luggage to me," Tetsu said
Kaede's lips quirked into a small smirk. "Bold. Reckless. Maybe a little foolish." She tilted her head. "Follow me if you want to actually get to the Academy. I have a gift… of direction."
Tetsu raised an eyebrow. "A gift? You mean a Tenki thing?"
Kaede's grin widened. "Something like that. Let's just say I never get lost."
And so, the unlikely duo began their trek deeper into the forest.
***********
Walking alongside Kaede was… an adventure, to say the least. She moved swiftly, leaping over fallen logs, ducking under hanging branches and jumping from trees. To her surprise, Tetsu had no trouble keeping up. He swung from branches and leapt off the trees with minimal effort.
"You know, for a prince, you are really good at this! " Kaede called back, a teasing tone in her voice. "It seems to me like you're actually enjoying all this running and jumping"
Tetsu chuckled, swinging over a particularly thick root. "I can't help it! I grew up in the heart of the Verdantis. I've been doing stuff like this all my life" Kaede jumped back down to the path" Now that doesn't sound very princely"
They laughed, the tension easing, though there was still a subtle cautiousness in Kaede's demeanour. She didn't reveal much about herself, answering Tetsu's questions in vague terms and often changing the subject with a joke or a teasing remark. Tetsu noticed it but didn't press—he would have to get to that later.
As they traversed the forest, they encountered their first challenge: a small pack of wild dark beasts, remnants of lingering energies from the Divine Tree explosion. They were lesser beasts but could still cause some trouble. They had red, glinting eyes and sharp claws.
"Stay behind me," Kaede said, nocking an arrow that shimmered faintly with Tenki.
Tetsu grinned, flipping his twin sai into his hands. "You read my mind."
The beasts lunged. Tetsu moved instinctively, slicing through one with a swift arc of his sai, the Tenki of his Nature element flaring softly around him. Kaede's arrow streaked through the air, hitting another squarely in the chest, dissipating it into a cloud of harmless sparkling mist.
"That was… impressive," Kaede admitted, glancing at him with a flicker of respect in her eyes. "You're strong."
"I've had some training," Tetsu replied with a shrug, though he felt a surge of pride. But he noticed Kaede's slight hesitation—her eyes darted to the woods behind them, scanning, wary.
"I… uh… trust you, but stay alert," she muttered. "The forest can be unpredictable."
Tetsu nodded, keeping pace, silently wondering why she seemed so guarded around him
After hours of hiking, fighting minor wild creatures, and teasing one another relentlessly, Kaede finally stopped on a ridge. Below them sprawled the Academy—a splendid complex of stone towers, magnificent architecture and lots of students all around the campus.
"There it is," Kaede said, her tone softening. "Finally."
Tetsu's jaw dropped. The Academy was more magnificent than anything he had imagined, a living monument to the world's Tenki and the teachings of the Divine Tree. "It's… incredible," he whispered.
Kaede finally relaxed, letting out a small laugh. "Told you I could get you here."
There was a brief silence, and Tetsu noticed her eyes soften slightly, as if she were letting down some of the walls she had maintained throughout the journey.
*******************
The gates of the Academy opened, and Tetsu and Kaede walked in among the crowd of new students. The air buzzed with energy—literally. They all marvelled at the school's size, decor and its overall grandeur.
Inside the main hall, banners of all the elements hung from high ceilings. The Academy's headmaster, Professor Kageaki Takamatsu, a tall figure adorned in flowing robes etched with runes, stepped forward. "Welcome, students," he boomed. "You are here not just to master your ability and harness your gifts, you are here to build the best versions of yourselves and become people society can be proud of. Some of the greatest influences in our world today, both positive and negative, stood in this very hall. So show courage, show skill, and above all… show heart." The students applauded.
As the students were being ushered to their various classes. Tetsu spotted a few interesting-looking people amongst the crowd. He suddenly felt a rush of excitement. This place was going to be fun.
****************
After the welcoming speeches, The Instructor for Tetsu's class led them to the training grounds instead of class. "My name is Kiyoshi Kuzuryu. That's Kiyoshi-sensei to you. Before we get to class, I want to see how many of you actually have what it takes to survive at this institution. So you'll be having mock battles. Think of it as your first test.
Tetsu's opponent was a boy named Denki. The other students murmured among themselves. Denki was known for his incredible strength, an intimidating presence from his days in middle school.
"Introduce yourselves", said Kiyoshi-sensei as he set the ring. Tetsu stood straight and faced the class "My name is Tetsuo Hikaruzaki, first prince of Verdantis. It's a pleasure to be here.
"Verdantis, huh?" Denki joked, a grin on his face."What are you gonna throw flowers at me?" Some students giggled.
"Are you gonna fight or are you gonna keep yapping?" Tetsu asked, a serious look on his face.
I'm Ren Denki, first prince of the great Terra Kingdom. "You're a big talker. You ready?" Denki asked, a smirk tugging at his lips.
Tetsu twirled his twin sai, his eyes locked on his target. "Always."
The battle began. Denki lunged forward with a powerful swing, his earth-infused hammer glowing faintly with every strike. Tetsu dodged nimbly, moving in ways Denki hadn't expected. He twisted his body, striking at Denki's flanks with precise, yet powerful attacks. Sparks flew as their weapons collided.
"Not bad…" Denki growled, swinging harder. Tetsu countered, his Sai glowing with a faint green shimmer—Nature Tenki subtly amplifying his speed and agility. He used his roots to tie Denki's hands tight to the ground, forcing him to drop the hammer. He then coated his fists and arms with hardened yet sharp bamboo and began punching him with incredible speed. Denki managed to get one of his hands free and used it to parry the attack.
He then willed his hammer to him and swung wildly, missing Tetsu but driving him back. "You bastard. You're actually putting up a fight," Denki said, spitting out blood. "I'll make sure you pay for that. He encased fists with solid granite and lunged towards him with his hammer.
They collided once more, with an incredible amount of force. Denki turned the ground around Tetsu into deep mud, making him lose his balance. He then lunged with his left fist, with his hammer in the right and delivered a strong blow, knocking Tetsu out of the mud.
He ran after Tetsu, hoping to stun him, but to his surprise, Tetsu did a backflip and launched using a circular shield made of Ironwood bark to take his punch. Tetsu then made the wood shoot thorns out the front, nearly impaling Denki.
On the other hand, Denki launched an earthen spire towards Tetsu. Both of them had zoned out and were preparing to throw at one another when Kiyoshi-sensei stepped in and deflected both attacks, stopping the fight.
"Don't interrupt this. It's just getting good," said Denki, while panting to catch his breath
"The fight's over",. said Kiyoshi-sensei. If it had lasted any longer, you might have lost your head.
The crowd mumbled loudly, clearly astonished. Denki, breathing heavily, glared at Tetsu—not with anger, exactly, but with a mixture of shock and frustration. "This isn't over, don't go thinking you beat me", he muttered, a flicker of resentment in his eyes.
Tetsu grinned. "Yeah. Whatever," and left
Students whispered among themselves. Even the normally unimpressed students, like Blaze Raiden or Star Thane, took note of Tetsu's strength. Some, however, started hating Tetsu due to this, including Denki.
***********
Kaede approached Tetsu after the match, a teasing smile on her face. "So… the prince isn't just lost in the forest. He's a battle beast, too."
Tetsu laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… I guess I'll need friends like you to help me survive the rest of this place."
Kaede's eyes softened again, and for a brief moment, her secretive demeanour relaxed. She didn't say much, but the faintest hint of a smile reached her eyes.
As the sun began to set over the Academy, the students gathered around for debriefing. The instructors discussed strategies, techniques, and areas for improvement. Tetsu felt a surge of determination. He was here, far from Verdantis, far from the city he had called home. He was here to master his abilities, face rivals like Denki, uncover his latent gifts, and prepare for the challenges that lay ahead.
And deep down, he knew the journey had only just begun.