Young Writers Society

The world of El is a futuristic fantasy like land inhabited by five races. The elementals, four distinct tribes each with their own unique command over the elements. And Humans, who own command of magicks and runes. All five races are ruled by an over branching government organization known as Ultra.

In order to unbiasedly supply their ranks with the best of the best, Ultra founded Gauze Academy. Only the elite and genius are able to pass the entrance exam and attend this prestigious school. In addition to serving as benevolent rulers, members of Ultra must also serve as Military police. If you are physically weak, you must make it up with either extraordinary genius or great command of your element or Magick. Your entrance exam will change based on your confessed specialty.

Once you have entered the academy, a blood sample will be taken from you. Each student will then be given a partner based on genetic compatibility. Being around your partner will boost your strength. Magick becomes more powerful, the strong get stronger,etc. You will each have separate curriculums based on your tribe and strength. But you will train in combat with each other, at the end of the year all students will compete with each other, and only the top ten winning pairs will be admitted as Ultra initiates. In addition while unnecessary, it is often expected (especially in royal families) that pairs are wed. The reason being the stronger your bond with your partner, the stronger the boost you get from being near each other.

SPECIALTIES:


The Brawns:


The Brains:


The X factor:


TRIBES:

WATER:


EARTH:


FIRE:


AIR:



HUMANS:


SLOTS:

NPCs:


WATER:


EARTH


FIRE:


AIR:


HUMAN:


CHARACTER TEMPLET:

Headmaster Lynn

When headmaster Lynn entered the Grand commons of Gauze, the only thing that identified her as administration was her long purple robe. Other than that Lynn looked every bit a student, which made sense since she herself had only graduated from Gauze ten years ago. Despite being the youngest headmaster in the history of Gauze, the Earth elemental had not been among the top ten teams in her class.

Still, Gauze students Ultra or not have nothing but success to look forward too upon graduation. Coming in at eleventh in her class Lynn more than earned her position. It was first year on the job, and the headmaster took care to gaze around at her first class of students. Fire, Earth, Water, Air, and human all mingled about.

The Brains (Whose technical title is Superlative Intelligence quotient welders, but it’s much easier to say ‘the brains’) looked as if their souls had been sucked right out. Lynn snickered, as a Brawn her admission test had been difficult, but the Brains instead took a two week long exam. The testing period lasted from twelve to twelve every day, the other twelve hours was dedicated to sleep, sustenance, and hygiene. Over every subject imaginable, and then some made up ones. They’d basically been held captive in a drab, grey prison with nothing to look at, and no one to talk too. Some were tired, other looked as if they were going into sensory overload, still Lynn could see a spark of excitement. Millions of students had tested along side them, but only two hundred were left.


Her fellow Brawns(Or Superlative Physical quotient) didn’t look that hot either. Though there admissions test may have been a bit more eventful. Thrown into a simulated wilderness for two weeks, the only necessities were sent in via air drop. But there had only been enough for about half of the test takers. To get their share they had to fight, the loser automatically failing their test and sent home. Unsurprisingly Brawns were harder to find than Brains were still, applicants numbered in the millions. Lynn’s chest puffed up in pride, to think she herself had been one among two hundred Brawns filled her with a sense of fufillment.

Next to that group was the Superlative External abilities quotients (Though they preferred X-factors). Many Ultra Nurses were treating various injuries,burns, scratches and the like. Some looked like they had almost drowned, others as if they’d taken a ride in a tornado. As with the other two groups, becoming an X-factor was extremely difficult. Two weeks of battle in an arena. All applicants were tossed in a city sized stadium, and were only allotted half a day’s rest if they knocked out another applicant. The result was two hundred of the most skilled elementals and humans in their respective field.

Lynn finished her observation, stepped up to her podium, and tapped her microphone. “Hello students! I want to be the first to congratulate you on passing the second most difficult test of your life! The official matching ceremony will be held promptly at 10:00 tonight. For now we will release your partner’s name and you shall receive a copy of their test results and file. Look for your name on one of the various screens. Lynn watched as students approached the various screens hanging about the room, some with excitement, and others with worry. But all of them had the same question in mind:

Who is my Ultra Match?

Rory|Air|Brain

The headmaster steps up to the podium and says, "Hello students! I want to be the first to congratulate you on passing the second most difficult test of your life! The official matching ceremony will be held promptly at 10:00 tonight. For now we will release your partner’s name and you shall receive a copy of their test results and file. Look for your name on one of the various screens."

I stumble some wandering through the crowd so I can get closer to the screens, then slap myself in the face as I realized, "Doofus! I can fly!" Not surprising I forgot, though. I used to fly every day, and revel in it, but I didn't get a chance to during the testing. I flutter my wings so I can rise above the crowd and spot the screen with my name on it. Aurora Falcon and Neilan Calder.

A faculty member, Earth tribe, meanders through the mass of students, stopping to pass out folders. He asks me, "What's your partner's name?"

"Neilan Calder." He shoves a folder in my direction, but before he walks away, I ask, "Is it against the rules to go meet our Ultra Match before the ceremony tonight?"

"Yes. Your dorm assignment should be on a sheet of paper in there, but you aren't supposed to go there until after the ceremony. You can explore the grounds until it's time for the ceremony."

I head outside and and fly up into a low tree, resting on a branch so I can read the folder.

Neilan Calder, age 17. Race:Half human, half water tribe. I reread the race statement, frowning slightly. That must've sucked for the poor guy. At least my family was pure Air, and we were still considered the lowest of the low. Brain. He got a really good score on the test, too. I can tell his biracial heritage easily from the photo. Suddenly I'm nervous to meet my Ultra Match. He's older and maybe smarter, and I know the expectations regarding matches. A close friendship isn't always considered enough.

Theressa - Human - Brain

Early bird catches the worm as they say, or in my case, night owl. I had been awake since two AM, and I had since been up. Now I stood in the courtyard reading over my partner's profile. I had bribed a desk worker to hand me both my profile and my partner's profile, I studied our exam results intently. He has me beat in "The Brains" part of the entrance exam. But I overtake him in "The Brawns" portion, but we match evenly in our "X-Factor" portion.

Cayt Arvor is his name, Air Elemental, Loner by nature, top of his class before the Academy. Not bad, not bad at all. I close both the portfolios and make my way to the dorms, hoping he hasn't left to get my profile yet, and have him find out it's missing. I pass by others who must be fresh off the still growing crowd of people, because they were holding there partner's profiles in front of them studying them.

Taking steps up the short flight of straits to the dormitory, I begin to realize just how dumb and against the rules meeting my partner is. But continue anyways, I'm already committed after all. I soon find myself inside the dormitory, a big fancy place that I'm sure is more meant for the royals than anything. Royal red carpet's torches that are easily contained, it was warm and cozy, I'm sure the rooms were even cozier.

I find myself in front of the door that is supposedly my partner's dorm room, well, time to meet. I knock twice on the door and wait for an answer. When none comes, I knock three times and wait for the door to open, a voice comes from the other side.

"Hold on, hold on!" I'm half betting the voice is Cayt Arvor.

The door opens and I see a very thin, but very tall guy in front of me. His hair is long and wispy, I liked how it was blue. "Cayt Arvor?" I ask. "Yes?" he replied with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Theressa Kalt, I'm your Ultra Partner, I said presenting him with my profile. He takes the profile, and looks it over quickly before I knew what he was about to ask.

"How did you get this without me?"

"I went though some unofficial channels, I thought to save us both some time instead of having to push though the giant crowd of people," I said.

He sighs, and I'm sure he doesn't want to know what I meant unofficial channels, he tosses my profile onto what I assume is his desk. "I've already studied both our profiles, I overtake you in Brawns, you overtake me in Brains, and we're evenly matched in X-Factor." I said matter-of-factly.

"You do know it's against the rules to see your partner, right?" his voice was deathly quiet.

"I know, but I only break rules I think are extremely dumb, this was one of them," I said.

Neilan Calder | Brains

"Excuse me. You forgot your folder."

Neilan Calder turned to find a woman with very obvious Earth Tribe lineage, with a bulbous upturned nose, chipmunk cheeks, and beady little black eyes that were pointed up to him (her head only came up to his mid-chest), with her eyebrows perked in the same fashion.

"Oh yes, thank you." Neilan replied with a polite smile. The woman turned on her heel and strutted away on her short, thick legs. He watched her for a moment before he let the upturning of his lips fall back down to an unimpressive straight line, glancing down at the mundane yellow folder with disinterest before returning to his original path, towards the dormitory.

"This isn't the country anymore." He breathed quietly, eyeing the tapestries, luxurious couches, and detailed paintings with bits of awe and disquiet. He felt a tug of wandering as he deviated down the grand hallways, which eventually gave way to the students' dorms. He had to turn around to come across his room.

Of course, everything was already in place. His bed, crisply made, sat towards the window, like it did at home. Stacks of unkempt books were leaning in the bookshelf, and the rest waited at the shelve's foot. Towers of large paper had been placed on a nice but ordinary wooden desk, and his thick colorful canvases of various sizes rested against the wall, waiting to get hung up. Rich red curtains adorned the window, and the room had been painted cozy colors of beige, chestnut, and wine red.

It wasn't home, but it was good enough.

He tossed the unopened folder and slip of paper on the remaining unused surface of the desk, jumping and resting on the bed. He dreaded the idea of the matching ceremony, and the idea of meeting someone else he would have to spend a very long time with. Maybe I'll just take a nap. At least until he had to go. Then, when the noise in the hallway cleared out, he'll slip in at the last moment.

Good plan. He told his subconscious. Neilan rolled over and propped his head on his hand, looking out at the scenery through the window. A large oak tree, beautiful with its intertwined roots and twisted trunk, took up part of his view. Not like he didn't mind. His lone eyes traveled up and down the rough bark, his conscious slipping as his mind went blank. He fell asleep there, his head pointed towards the oak tree, resting lazily on his hand, his eyes closed.

Cayt Arvor

Cayt made a beeline for his bed and soon as he'd entered the room. He was so exhausted from the testing that he didn't even stay for the entrance ceremony, instead he'd headed straight here, ready for a nap. Besides, he knew everything about the academy from his parents. He basically memorized the congratulations speeches, knew every policy, and all the teachers. He didn't need to be there. Cayt's wings drooped sadly on his back as he didn't even have the strength to fold them up, and as soon as his head hit his pillow he was drifting off.

He'd been asleep for maybe an hour when a knocking on the door awoke him from slumber. Being a light sleeper, he wakes immediately, but the sleep clouding his brain makes him hesitate, still trapped within the coattails of the fading memory of a dream. A second set of knocks alerts all his senses.

"Hold on," he announces while rubbing sleep from his eyes. Sometime in the middle of his nap, his hair fell out of its band and he ran a quick hand through it to untangle all the knots. After fixing up his clothing, he opens the door.

---

The girl is strange, he decides, in a way that makes him uncomfortable. He narrows his eyes at the girl as she examines his room.

"Right then," he says, and unmistakable bite to his voice. "You can leave now."

He doesn't like strangers. She saw his profile, he knew that she knows that now. She looks slightly startled at his request but slowly made her way to the door anyway. He follows her out.

"Oh, okay then. See you around."

"Sure."

He closes the door firmly as soon as she steps out of its frame. Once left alone, he presses his back to the door and struggles to calm his racing heart. After a few minutes he moves, still a little bit put off by his partner's forwardness. He'd never met a person like that before. In a daze, he grabs his backpack off the ground and shoves it full of books, mostly those on the subjects he felt he didn't know enough of during the test, and opened his bedroom window.

His dorm was located on the third floor at the end of the hall. Looking outside he saw people walking around, gathered in groups, exploring the campus. He shuddered at the sight, unfurled his wings, and jumped out. He fell for only a few seconds before he was shooting up into the sky. There were a few other people in the sky, he passed one Air on her way to wherever. She smiled and waved but Cayt just narrowed his eyes and turned away. A few minutes of flying found him a quiet hidden corner on the campus. He circled the area a few times, making sure no one was around, before touching down.

It was a quiet garden area, hidden by thick trees and bushes. A circle of benches sat in the middle of the mini-forest, but Cayt had lost all want to study. He dumped his backpack on the ground and immediately started racing through the trees. The quick turns and sharp corners made his adrenaline pump and his breathing grew shallow. His hair whipped all around his face but he didn't bother to tie it up. He'd never been in a forest before, his town didn't have an abundance of trees, and this was heaven.

He could stay there forever.

Yorin Rhed | Fire | Brain

Yorin glanced over the file in his hands. Bedella Agni, Fire elemental, X-factor. He winced slightly. Compared to his powers, hers must be considerable. But he would not be outdone, not even by this Bedella. On the other hand, he was glad that he would be partnered with one of his own race. Becoming the close companion of a human could be strange, or even disturbing. No, this was the right Match. His opinion was confirmed as he read through her history, lingering on her descent and the photo, which showed her to be petite. She was as much an outcast as he was. A loose page contained details about his dormitory allocation and other formalities.

Yorin moved out of the crowd and peered around. Nobody seemed to be telling them what to do next, and the ceremony would only be at 10:00, so he left the packed hall and started to explore the grounds. The sun was warm on his face when he stepped outside. Drinking in the energy, he found an open lawn and sat down on a bench, marveling at the scenery. Everything was green. Here and there, Earth elementals dressed in a simple uniform tended to the plants. He allowed his finders to run over the mossy wood of the bench. Letting his imagination run, he drew a little energy and compressed the wood into delicate swirls. The deepest of these he singed slightly. Within minutes the bench was a tapestry of whorls and curves. Glancing around quickly to make sure no Earth elemental had spotted him, Yorin took his leave as quickly as possible without appearing too suspicious.

He walked onwards to a large, open courtyard. Two Air elementals, dressed in blue silk, stood facing each other, their palms turned outwards. Wind whipped their clothes and hair about them and tore violently at their faces. One gave a sudden yelp and staggered forward. The second laughed and the wind died down. The elementals bowed to each other. Looking further along, Yorin spotted similar pairs engaged in sparring. A man and a Water elemental were levitating a sphere of liquid between them, attempting to hit each other with it. An Earth elemental was humming softly as a vine, rising like a snake before him, broke out of the flagstones. Two more elementals were watching a third hurl a spear. The first narrowed her eyes and the spear burst into violet flames.
"Good!" the man exclaimed. "But too much energy wasted on the colour. Try a more concentrated, white flame."
Somebody swore loudly, then yelled, "Lookout!"
Yorin spun around, but was too late to dodge the sphere of water as it bore down on him. He raised his hands in shock and closed his eyes, instinctively drawing on the sun's power. A roar filled his ears, steam scalded his skin, and no water hit him. He opened his eyes. A cloud of steam evaporated rapidly around him.
"Are you all right?" somebody asked. Yorin blinked and looked down at the angry red marks covering his arms. The file in his hands was limp and smoking in one corner.
"You must be one of the new entrants," an older man said, hurrying over. "You should get straight down to the medics. I'll take you there." He took Yorin's shoulder and guided him briskly into the building. "Draw another sphere and practise levitating it until I return," he called over his shoulder. To Yorin, he said, "I do apologise. That was hardly a warm welcome. I am Master Whershin. I give assistance classes to those who have troubles, or wish to excel in one field or another. I believe you are a new entrant?"
"Yorin Redd," Yorin replied. "Thank you for your kind assistance."
"Not at all," the man smiled. "Though I'm afraid you will be wearing some rather undashing bandages to the Ceremony tonight."