The Assembly
1724 Words
I am standing behind Philip, and Sander is at my right, as we stood in a straight line along with other thousands of demigods. We are in the middle of an oval, on a football field. The whole place was full of chattering, the late morning sun is hot, and the stage at the distance are all set. There are tens of instructors and staff on the stage, lining up. Even Mr. Estevan is there. Starting from the left, he is third. I am sweating because of this heat. What are they waiting for?
"Attention!" said someone loudly, and clearly. Then all of them stood straight, with no extra movements, and no sound. I did the same.
Then there was an old man in a robe, trying to climb up the stage. He looks frail and needed a person to help him get up. It took a minute until he arrived at the podium. Someone put a stool there first so that he can reach the mic. A person tapped it to hear that it is working. I heard a tapping sound from the speakers. Then all of the people here, even the ones who are on the stage, bowed down to the old man. I bowed down too.
"Who is that?" I asked Sander.
"The Toparch of this district."
"What is that?"
"The ruler of this district, so just stay quiet!"
"Okay..."
"Shhhh!" he hushed me.
"Good morning..... Everyone," said the old man with a weak voice.
"Good morning Toparch Caesar!" said all of the people here, and I wasn't able to say it too. They stood up straight. Man, I am very out of place here. I saw the old man smiling, as he is about to start speaking.
"Yes....," he said. "it is a good morning....." He stopped for a moment. "The sun is shining well, the breeze is very fresh.... And the spring weather feels nice.... Indeed, this is a good morning. But for what? For what is this good morning for?"
Nobody answered.
"It is for your generation to rise up, and bring back honor..." he said in a kind tone. "I am old and weak. I cannot even wash my butt myself." He laughed and the crowd also laughed softly. "But you, young people, can take care of yourself, and grow to become an asset. An asset for peace and prosperity for the people. Demigods we are, but we are just servants! Because we are strong, and the strong protects the weak. That is the truth there. For example, I am weak, and I cannot protect myself at times if I am attacked, but it doesn't scare me. Why? Because there are people who are ready to protect me. And that, my young ones, is how the people we are offering our service to, feel."
Wow, this man is wise.....
"When I was young and very strong like you children... I had these very hard and dangerous missions. They are missions that kept me thinking that I could die at any moment, so I thought deeply about why am I putting my life on the line? Why not somebody else does this instead? Why me? I asked, 'Who am I?' 'I am a demigod,' I answered. What does it mean? It means that I am a being that sits between the gods and humans. I thought about it, and I realized that I am neither very strong, nor very weak. I am the being that is between the word, weak and strong. What does that make me? It makes me a vessel of the gods and humans to understand each other. Because gods can't be powerful without humans, and humans cannot protect themselves. They live in perfect harmony, but they need someone to bridge the gap."
He fell quiet for a moment when he drank water.
"That is my purpose, your purpose, and all of demigods' purpose. Don't even think about how weaker we are than the gods, because our importance is the same as theirs, and they acknowledge it very well. That is why they bless us with all they can, as gratitude for being their bridge. Have a good year in this Academy, young ones, and may courage guide you to your will." He put his right fist into his chest, so did others. "We know He is here..."
"When the mountains, oceans, and skies will roar!" said all of the people here in the field, and applauded.
What was that about? And who are they referring to?
"Thank you for that wonderful, and inspiring speech, Toparch Caesar," said Mr. Estevan as he took over the podium. "We really appreciate your work, and dedication for all of us, from being a great warrior to the greatest Toparch the Hades District has ever had." The old man sat on the chair that is specially prepared for him. "Now, we get to informing you of the things you will do here for a whole year."
"Here it is...," said Sander in excitement.
"There are four parts of this Selection. First, in this coming three months, you will be learning History, Literature, Advanced Mathematics, General Science, and Physiology."
What? All of these in just three months? This is way beyond my level! As expected of a demigod curriculum. I wonder if I can survive. No, I mustn't think that way. I am here to become the King of Olympus. This little trial will be just nothing compared to the real test for might!
"Second, you will be working on your physical endurance. This will take up to three months too."
That's the second? Easy enough....
"Third, you will train for physical combat. There are no restrictions as to how you will train. However we recommend that you pick the fighting style that is suited for you, and this Academy is full of instructors of different fighting styles. Ask them for help anytime, and you also may train with someone you know outside the academy, provided that you bring them to the office for an application. Failing to comply with this, results in dropout. After the three months of training, you will show your skill in front of the gods who will judge you. You prove it by fighting an opponent in your batch. The matchmaking will be random and in tournament form. If the gods judge you as worthy to become their subordinates, you may proceed."
"Fourth, is your internship. You will be doing all sorts of missions here on earth. Again, the gods will put you into a certain team. The number of members may vary. The details of it will be further discussed when you reach this end. No sense in telling you now if you won't even pass all the three tests. So focus on honing your skills. That is all." The introduction of instructors have begun, but I didn't listen. I just kept thinking about what Mr. Estevan talked about.
The crowd began to chatter. I tried to ask Sander on some other things that I am confused with, like the last test, but then, "Silence!" said someone on the podium. It is an instructor with a great bodybuild. His voice is so big and low that it scared me a little bit. I did not dare to talk again, and neither the others.
"Come forth as I call your name," he said.
My mind is flying when I thought about how am I gonna show them how great humans are. It doesn't mean that I am a human that they can underestimate me, like that Darius who I met earlier. It took a little while until I heard, "Leonide Padine!" The chill ran down my spine, I walked to the front and there were already other kids. They all lined up, and I joined at the last.
"Philip Ruiz! Sander Baker!"
They are called too? Yes!
"Darius Ozan!" Yikes! Of all the people, him?
Philip and Sander are behind me, and I feel uncomfortable like someone is chanting a death curse from the third person behind me. I didn't dare to look back.
"This is class number one! Proceed to room XII! And don't even think about walking without lining up or it is your body parts I 'will' line up!"
Man, this instructor is crazy!
"Hey! Line up!" said someone at the front.
"I know!" another answered.
I saw the other instructors laughing. We walked into the building like prisoners in a line. Our room is on the third floor, so we took the stairs. A couple of doors we have passed until we entered the room we are assigned to. Most of them sat on the front, and that leaves us three at the back.
"Man, that was scary," said Sander. He sat at my right.
Philip laughed as he sat in front of me. We patiently waited for a teacher to meet us as the first period of the day, but thirty minutes have passed. The three of us just talked about our families.
"So Leo," said Sander. "What district do you live in?"
"Athena District," I answered.
"Oh... My other friend said that there are creatures that steal Olympian Strength from demigods. Is that true?"
"Oh no...," I disagreed while finding it funny. "There are no such things as that." Philip just laughed at him for asking a ridiculous question. "How many in your family worked for the gods?"
"I dunno...," said Sander. "Our family is vast and I lost count of how many aunts and uncles I have. They are about fifty I guess.... Philip, how about you?"
"Seventy-three in total," he said, and we exclaimed. "but I don't know if they are still alive."
"Yeah...," said Sander. "me too."
"But you guys live in luxury, because of the reward the gods give to your family, do you?" I asked. Then they looked at me. They look serious, but not angry. It is like I pulled some sensitive topics.
"No," said Philip. "We don't even own land here."
"Oh, I am so sorry guys, I didn't mean-"
"It's okay," said Sander. "It's not like you have lived here to know how things are going around."
"But on the TV and my teachers said that every demigod in the district lives in such luxury..."
"Really?" asked Philip. "Did the TV and your teachers said that?"
"Yeah."
"Then those guys hid the truth."
"What guys-"
"Hey hey!" said a kid behind Philip. "Don't even talk about one word of it, or you'll regret it!"
- Writer
