Chapter 4 (Arc)
When I was about four and a half, my mother told me how school worked, and surprisingly it was much like American school systems. Kids would start primary education at four years old at the end of summer. Although appropriate institutions weren't available for elementary students, tutors were often used for those who could afford it.
Although I was getting by, it was then that I began learning more about how to read, use the mathematical system, and learn more about Arc. As it turned out, the books I'd read in my earlier years covered the majority of what my tutors were teaching me, but there was an incredible amount that couldn't be learned from books alone. For instance, I was being forced to learn two additional languages in combination with The Zeffan and Osmiran, and of course English I already knew.
"Where, young lady, is your Arc core located?" Professor Garrison would ask. His voice seemed fragile as it shook with an untuned vibrato. It matched his overall stature as a learned old man.
"It's in the sternum, sir," I'd reply by placing my hand at the center of my chest.
"That's correct. Why then, though, can you not utilize Arc?" Garrison would ask, his eyes narrowed as if he were expecting me to get the answer wrong. It was the look on his face that made me second-guess what I already knew.
"Because it's still in its purification stage?" The uncertainty bled through my answer, as I more so questioned whether I was right or not.
"Oh… I have no clue, don't ask me, tell me." This old kook reminded me of Doctor Shintora, his constant games and air of mentorship. At the very least I could hope that Professor Garrison didn't get me killed too, or whatever it was that happened to me.
"Right, Because my core is still in the purification stage, sir!" I said more firmly this time. Garrison would chuckle as he raised his hand.
"You take after your father, Kaliah…" Garrison would mutter that before shaking his head and continuing. "Anyways, much better. When does the purification stage end, and what happens when it does?"
"The purification stage ends when someone turns five years old. At that time, their core will be inspected and the level of their core will be measured," I said, now starting to become more comfortable with my own answers.
"Very good. How many stages of purity are there, and by what importance?" Garrison now stood and hobbled closer to my desk.
"There are six stages, red being the least pure. Anyone with a red core will struggle to utilize Arc regularly and effectively. Then there's orange. While common, an orange core is generally lacking in power. Yellow is the average core most people have, especially if they are commoners or come from a lower blood. Green is the core required to be possessed in order to join the royal army. It's the same core my father and mother had as well. Blue is a rare core but is held by some of, if not the strongest, people in Osmiran. And last but not least, violet is the highest purity core a person can obtain and provides near unrivaled, limitless power. The great Emperor Ragnir had a violet core; it was monumental in solidifying his place as emperor over the continent." I spouted off every bit of information I remembered about Arc at that moment, and while I had thought I did well, Garrison let out a gruff sigh when I finished.
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"You forgot to mention three things, do you know what they are?" The old man asked while he pulled up a chair to the desk I sat behind.
"Uh… Purity, Levels, five years old, royal services…" I thought out loud as I tried to remember what I had said. "Oh! When your core finishes purification, during the inspection ceremony, the Official of the ceremony will reveal your core's Gift. Gifts, also called True Skills, are abilities based on a core's purity. The better the core, the better the Gift becomes. A Gift and its properties will be revealed only to the owner and no one else before it forms an emblem somewhere on your skin. The color of your emblem will generally match the color of your core. It is also taboo to ask someone what their Gift is," I said. I felt like I was talking so much; I definitely needed to get better at making my explanations short and succinct.
"Okay, that's one. You have two more things left to mention." Garrison then leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and waiting expectantly.
"There's core size, too… So like, the bigger your core is, the more Arc you can utilize at a time. but…" It hit me then what the third thing was as well.
"Oh yeah, while all cores finished their initial purification at the same time at the age of five, cores could purify at different rates depending on a number of factors, including gender and background. Size was also a big influencer. There were three sizes: Large being uncommon, Medium being common, and Small being rare. While Small cores were the fastest to purify and become yellow or green, they also had the lowest capacity for using Arc, meaning they ran out of juice quicker. And while Large cores had the highest capacity for Arc, they took longer to purify and often resulted in red or orange cores." Finishing, I leaned over the desk and sighed.
"Very good, young lady!" Garrison said, slamming his hand on the desk. The noise caused me to jerk up and return to sitting upright. "What exactly is Arc?" The old man closed his eyes and smiled prestigiously.
"Arc is the energy of life that flows through and in all things. Raw Arc or Unrefined Arc is toxic and can be dangerous to people who either empty their Arc, damage their Arc, or have no Arc core all together. It's so dangerous, in fact, that when a person's Arc core is destroyed, they disintegrate into pure Arc energy," I said, now increasingly growing tired of the endless questioning.
"Very nice job, Kaliah. That's going to conclude our knowledge test. After all, it is tomorrow that you will be turning five, and we will have to get you inspected for your core level and gifts."
