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  ALMAKIA I

  The vilashi and the Dragons

  LHAISA ANDRIA

  Translation by Stefany Marinho

  If you shoot your dreams to the sky and dry your tears, more than words, your heart will be the answer.

  Kotoba yori taisetsu na mono – Arashi

  SUMMARY

  Chapter 1 – Beyond the Black Gates

  Chapter 2 – The Dragons of Almakia

  Chapter 3 – The Assignments

  Chapter 4 – Mombelulas and the Fortress

  Chapter 5 – The desperate escape of Garo-lin

  Chapter 6 – Real Dragon

  Chapter 7 – The consequences of vilashi's sneeze

  Chapter 8 – The heiress who rejected the title and Princess

  Chapter 9 – Almaki resonance

  Chapter 10 – The way a vilashi handle

  Chapter 11 – In Routes

  Chapter 12 – The vilashis from Godan

  Chapter 13 – Gu-ren tomatoes

  Chapter 14 – Almaki's Explosions of Fire

  Chapter 15 – The extra sphere

  Chapter 16 – The Proposal from Stone Valley Pirates

  Chapter 17 – Always stay in a visible place

  Chapter 18 – The one who will dictate the course of Almakia

  Chapter 19 – Fire Secret

  Chapter 20 – Fear of Dragons

  Chapter 21 – A piece of Almakia

  Chapter 22 – Becoming a Vilashi again

  Chapter 23 – A tip of the conspiracy

  Chapter 24 – The one who was near the Dragon

  Chapter 25 – Garo-lin against the Lady of the Fire Capital

  Chapter 26 – The way we should go through

  Chapter 27 – The price to be paid

  Chapter 28 – Beyond the sea

  Even within the limits of Almakia realm, place of origin of the first almakins, not all are born with the gift of using one of the Seven Elemental Powers, the main characteristic of these antique descendants.

  These powers, representations of what we can find in nature in all existing realms, are present in the blood and preserved in the almakins clans. Just as air is naturally for our lungs, the almaki is naturally for their handler. Having the ability to handle one of these representations it's the same as to perpetual ownership of something important and being above anyone... consequently, this capacity also awakens the awareness of being a great person.

  Knowing that the union of their powers would result in the sovereignty of the almakin people over the rest of the inhabitants of other realms, the ancestor handlers began a time of darkness and prejudice. Along with the expansion of their territorial limits and the submission of what they considered inferior beings, they defended the idea that ordinary people – who, according to them, didn't have an almaki – didn't deserve to remain in the so-called Almakia, except through charity and bondage. Many attempts at uprisings by the oppressed occurred and all failed because they were never able to fight fairly. Gradually, anyone who wasn't a pure almakin, capable of handling a representation of a natural element, had been banished from the realm or exterminated. Thus, Almakia became an admired, feared, absolute, and pure empire.

  Although, what no one could have imagined was that this absolutism would begin to crumble from within, from its own pride.

  Once reigning, the almakins would have to decide who represented them, and the internal dispute ended up weakening those who wanted to have the world at their command. Sooner than might be expected, the pure almakins were being extinguished through covetousness and conspiracy, and those who remained found a single solution: to initiate a new era. Thus, the New Law was also initiated, in which, strategically, they recognized the Royal State formed by former leaders of the ancient territories of Almakia, even if it were composed of people without almakis.

  About a thousand years later, in a more developed and more commercial realm, the various descendants of the ancient almakins still exist and maintain customs and traditions, seeking not to make the same mistakes as their ancestors and guarding their Secrets.

  So, over time, rather than imposing their command by force, they subtly used their skills to get a more comprehensive and irrevocable power: the economic one. Great constructions, power generation, scientific discoveries in various areas, and the development of society based on the application of almaki to concrete things gave the Almakin people the rank of essentially necessary people, forming a powerful elite, the Almaki Society. There were no wars, no darkness and much less extermination in this process, only a justified inequality. The almakins were once again sovereign for the simple fact that there were no means of living without them and the benefits of what they did. Thus, owning an almaki has once again become synonymous with prestige.

  The prejudice of the past, however, still prevailed, especially among those who could proudly say that their almaki came immaculate through the ages, and guarded it as a treasure of great value. These few families, holding such purity, guarded their positions, considering themselves superior to all other beings in Almakia, and sought to preserve and control all knowledge related to the Almakis Secrets, being known as the Great Families. And, in order to ensure that their heirs continued on the same path, an almaki teaching institution was founded on Maojin Hill, one of the most distant places of all those who did not possess powers, by a famous Dul'Maojin Fire Family handler, predominant almakins of the region. It was not long before this place of studies became known by the same name and soon attracted people from all corners of the Almakia, establishing there the Fire Capital, where it became one of the most developed commercial centers of the whole Realm. In addition to representing the handlers' learning pole, this place has also become symbolically the center of the Almaki Society, where all the major events, decisions and meetings of this elite were held. And in order to show how far their wealth went, they spared no effort to make this Capital more beautiful and active in comparison to all the other great metropolises scattered throughout all the Realms. And the Dul'Maojin Institute was the mark of all the ostentation of the almakins.

  Similarly, in the remainder of Almakia, the example of the Fire Capital was followed and around the Great Families, almakins cities were built. They couldn't compete with the Fire Capital and its representation of power, but they also didn't refrain from dazzling the visitors with all possible pomp. Thus, the Capitals Almakis arose, each one with its importance and its specialty, according to the Family that was its patron.

  Among the icy mountains of the north was the Windy Capital, dominated by the Sfairul, a clan of merchants who negotiated with other Realms and guarded the frontiers of this extensive part of Almakia. To the West, in Stone Valley, one of the most arid regions, the center of the Metal Capital was represented by the Gran'Otto family, which owns productive mines and is recognized for the large constructions they have promoted throughout the Realm. In the Central Fields, a region of ancient forests, the heart of Almakia, the reserves of the Aldrinu family cultivated the customs principles of the almaki people and proudly guarded all the ancient relics of the Realm. In the Fire Capital, there was still the Zawhart family, from Lighting's almaki whose Secret is to handle almaki for healing, which gave them an essential importance within society, apart from having a capital at their feet. And there was still the Royal Capital, where the Gillion stood out – although they are not almakins –, since they descended from the old relegations of conquered small realms, and their representatives constitute the Government from the times of the ancestor handlers. Located in the High Rocky Valleys, in the southeast region, where Almakia ends at sea, the Royal Capital is still considered an important center of leadership and diplomacy, even
if its functioning does not follow its theory.

  Thus, around these Great Families, the Society of the Realm, composed mainly of almakins, of various levels, and ordinary people, had once brightened in a more organized and exuberant way. Over the years, as Almakia's prosperity was rebuilt, outsiders came to the Realm for a better life, attracted by the possibilities that arose. With the support of the Royal State and the promise of protection and security of the almakins, these immigrant peoples – denominated in a prejudiced and generalized way as vilashis, even though they are several among them – they settled in a region called the Inland Valley. This valley, practically depopulated until the settlement of the vilashis, was between a mountain range and a region desolated by a complicated climate. A piece of Almakia that did not attract the interest of the almakis, because it is not a comfortable place to live. But it was full of lands that had become fertile with proper care, giving these foreigners the opportunity to start crops and to perform other manual tasks despised by the Great Capitals, which were fundamental to their basic functioning.

  However, even with all their past of greatness and the elaborate structure they built, still despising those who were not equal or inferior to them, the almakins could not guarantee control over the Seven Powers. Knowledge began as soon as the history of the handlers was written, not the almaki principle. There was no explanation as to how it had come about, the motive to emerge and how it manifested itself in people.

  Thus, an almaki could also act spontaneously, without respecting the people limits who represented them and going beyond explanations. The Elemental Powers are present in all things in the world and act differently in different forms. An almaki can be considered the highest degree of this performance. To be born into a family of excellent almakins did not mean to have the excellence in managing their equals, or even the guarantee of some power. In the same way, it happened that a poor family of remote villages of ordinary people and vilashis came across a special child, who, though having no relation to Ancient Almakia, possessed the ability to handle an element. It was unquestionably rare, but it had happened a few times in the course of Realms History.

  In an attempt to overcome this problem, these special children had the privilege of being admitted to the Dul'Maojin Institute and of being considered almakins, even if they were not. Thus, from an early age, they realized the place they occupied in the world and from where they should remain: within the Great Families limits. For the almakins, it was somewhat risky, and, at a certain point, dangerous, to allow these little ones to grow without guidance, thinking that they could consider themselves to be one of the elite or, most disturbingly, opposing the way everything should be and encouraging others to think in the same way.

  Thus, there was a law that guaranteed that, at age 12, almakins were inside the Institute without their origin being taken into account, as a way to maintain vigilance, disguising it of education and politics of coexistence. For those who did not belong to the world of almakins, had no access to the office did not receive information on the large capitals and lived in a simple way in the field, away from political and ideological issues, one thought was prevalent: deeper than the respect for the Royal State of Almakia, those who descended from an Ancient Power aroused fascination. Having a partially almakin child was like receiving a blessing, a precious and divine chance.

  And it was so, on a cold night, when the winds of the Nanfan Storm coming from the south approached the Inland Valley and made the walls of the precarious dwellings of the village trembling Godan, that a new page in the History of Almakia had begun to be written. In the small house of the Vilashi Colinpis family, the first event took place which would not only shake the entire Almaki Society as it would alter the course of the entire Realm.

  Realm of Almakia – Begin

  While Mother Colinpis was cradling the baby Chari-lin wrapped in blankets on her lap and the bars of the garments pulled by the small, whining Mira-lin, the father and the eldest daughter tried to light a fire on a small piece of dirt within house, to warm the place.

  — Mom, the pirates are out there! – cried Mira-lin, hiding in the folds of fabric, clapping her teeth.

  — It's the wind, they're not pirates – her mother tried to calm her down. – Garo-lin! Don't get too close or you'll burn!

  But Garo-lin did not hear her mother's warnings or her sister's crying. Crouched on the edge of the polished wooden floor, all her concentration was turned to the hands of her father, who tried to light a flame by slamming the boring stones he held in the heap of sticks in the lower part of the house. A few sparks had already left, and those orange dots that jumped mysteriously at each beat were enough for the curious 5-year-old girl to completely forget about the cold and the howling of the winds.

  — Garo-lin, I already told you to-

  — Atchiiiiiiiim!

  Once again, the mother tried to get her daughter's attention but was prevented by her sneeze, and was so shocked that she could not finish the scolding. Even Mira-lin had stopped crying and looked surprised at her sister, sniffing. Because along with the sneeze there was an explosion, which threw her father Colinpis away, and immediately the wood piled up to the fire burned with live flames, with flames that reached to the ceiling.

  Even after the desperation of the incident and finding that there would be no fire, it took entire minutes for the family to realize that it was before a fire handler.

  When seeing the parents looking at each other in surprise, all Garo-lin did was smile, satisfied with the well-done work of heating the house. She did not imagine that seven years later, she would face the separation of her brothers and would begin the adventure of leaving the limit of what was known as her world, going to the Fire Capital and being presented to the Black Gates of the Dul'Maojin Institute. And there, standing in front of what would be her home from then on, a 12-year-old Garo-lin could not keep her chin from falling. As much as she had traveled and heard so many comments about the Institute, nothing could have prepared one who had grown up as a vilashi for the greatness of what she saw.

  — Unbelievable... – she murmured, staring at the floor in front of her, as if she were standing in front of an imaginary barrier, and when she crossed it, she could never again be the little Garo-lin who lit the fire with a sneeze.

  Then, taking a deep breath and gathering all the courage she possessed in a determined gesture, the girl took the first step, feeling the pride of being unique and wanting to be worthy of such a position.

  PART I

  Among Almakins

  Where are we going?

  To the place we have not yet seen.

  Time does not stop, reach out your hand.

  “To be free” – Arashi

  Chapter 1 – Beyond the Black Gates

  At first, the Almaki Dul'Maojin Formation Institute was built on the flat base and sloping slope of Maojin Hill, but over time, it gained both fame and attachments. More than two hundred years after its foundation, it maintained its historic buildings that clung to the hill without bothering to divide space with luxurious and modern constructions, forming an architectural mosaic that sheltered the greater almakins masters with its promising apprentices.

  Even with the immense built area, its lands expanded around that region with pavilions, gardens, woods and a lake. They said that only from the top of the hill was it possible to get a sense of where their boundaries were. Even the steep coast had been dug out, like an elaborate anthill of corridors and tunnels, and the viewpoints built if one could have a broad view of the entire Fire Capital.

  The great Black Gates were the most known and commented part, since it was the maximum that someone who was not almakin could know of the Institute. There, only handlers passed by, feeding the mystery surrounding the Secrets. However, there were not so many problems to leave except for the punishments if the transgressor student was discovered, since the regulations of the Institute clearly stated that the exit was only allowed with a higher authorization. Ne
vertheless, escape was unthinkable, for it was a place where all the youth of the world would wish to be and no one saw a motive for such folly. Besides, who with the least conscience would want to flee from the center of all the attention of Almakia?

  Although the Institute maintained a rigorous selection and delimited its population only to those who had the capacity to manage – that is, only almakins –, these measures were justifiable and well understood by its residents, since having an almaki was something precious, which should be well guarded and polished. Basically, prejudice and pride that went through centuries.

  After five years living inside the Institute, all that Garo-lin could remember of her first vision of the Black Gates was a vague impression of innocent wonder. All the fame and distinction of the one and greatest almaki school had fallen to the ground when she had known her true interior.

  Far from the historical atmosphere of accumulated knowledge she hoped to find impregnated in those buildings, the life that flowed through the labyrinth of Maojin Hill buildings was teeming with ostentation. The students were like a precious collection and knew perfectly what the privileges of their positions were and did not mind showing it in the way that suited them. What really counted among those walls was their name, their origin, their place in society. To Garo-lin, a simple vilashi who had had the immense luck of being born with an almaki power, all that was-

  — UNBELIEVAAAABLE! – she bellowed at the horizon as she jumped down the last step and stopped sliding in front of the partially destroyed wall that allowed her that vision.

  Some birds that were already nestled in the trees around came up frightened flight and soon the only noise was Garo-lin's gasping breath. Trying to calm herself and catching her breath, she avoided thinking about what had just happened.

  Once again her patience was about to disappear and once again she had to run to the only place where she knew she could download everything she wanted to say and could not: the ruins of the downtown southwest wing of the Institute.