"Are you excited, Z?" a young female voice inquires. A second female in her late teens nods and responds, "We've been waiting for this day for so long it feels like. He should be here already." The first female jokingly retorts, "Use this mission to show everyone what you are capable of. Since you know... he's done all the work up until now." The two girls laugh until their walk is stopped by a group of young men. The lead male, who is also in his late teens, smiles at the two young women and speaks, "Well if it isn't the precious princess. Your family position going to get you passed through this test as well?" His words are directed at the female referred to as Z. The other female steps forward and chastises him, "How dare you speak to her in such a manner! Know your station!" He fires back, "You high nobles always seem to forget that your precious status doesn't matter while you serve the Order of the Sentinel. You're nothing without your bodyguard, are you?" Icy mists start to form around him as he flexes his powers. The female, Z, shakes her head. One of his buddies tells him to relax and that they have to get to their next training session. A second one of them echoes that sentiment. The ringleader forms an ice sword in his hand and tells them that he won't cower from nobles just because they think they're better than everyone else and untouchable.
Z tries to just ignores him and walk away, but he moves to block her path again. "You should really learn to pick your battles better. Walk away while you still can." He scoffs at her and dashes to attack her. Her eyes turn completely black for a moment, but before she can act, the young male is stopped in his tracks and falls to the ground. A new figure in a hooded cloak that appeared out of nowhere stands over his body as the young ringleader coughs uncontrollably. The ringleader is picked up off the ground and pummeled by a quick barrage of strikes before a front stomp kick to the left knee buckles the ringleader and brings him to fall onto the right knee. The hooded figure looks at the other young men that were with him while several other teens who were standing around start whispering. A rumbling growl escapes from the hood aimed at the other boys. The gloved hand of the hooded figure begins to visually distort itself as the fingers come together in a knifehand position. The boys with the ringleader plead with Z to stop the hooded figure from striking him again. The hooded figure pulls his arm back to strike and as his hand nears the head of the ringleader, Z speaks firmly yet with an air of regal elegance, "Huntare... we're late." The figure holds his hand inches away from the ringleader's forehead as his forearm tightens to restrain himself. "Volaer..." the figure protests. She walks up and places a hand on his right forearm. "Taesia." He instantly stands down and steps back from the injured young male. Z steps forward and speaks to the young ringleader, "Yes, I am a Royal Kotada of Yujia, but I am a Sentinel as well. You don't have to like where I come from or my station, but you will show me the respect that I have earned. I have given 4 years to training for today and you will not ruin it. Remember today that I showed you mercy as a Sentinel. Take him to a healer." The other boys help him up and support him as they carry him off after thanking her and doing their best to avoid eye contact with Huntare.
Z's female companion walks up and greets the hooded figure, "You sure know how to make an entrance, Huntare." The figure turns and nods respectfully, "Tyl." She sighs and says, "I do have a name, you know." Z tugs at Huntare for them to keep walking and speaks to her friend, "Don't take it personally, Rala. He generally refers to me as Taser or by my title in the old tongue." Rala inquires, "That word you said to get him not to kill Yaug... that was Old Tongue wasn't it, Z?" She nods and tells Rala that the bond between her spirit and her is growing and with it, her understanding of Old Tongue. That understanding helps her keep Huntare from losing control of his powers. Rala giggles and says, "He also keeps you from having to worry about losing control of yours. I saw your eyes change. The hilarious part is that everyone thinks that you can summon your Wrath from thin air. You are truly blessed to have such a formidable guardian as Huntare watching over you all the time, Z." Z looks at her guardian and nods. "He protects me from far more than just obnoxious boys. Huntare is my closest confidant. I can tell him anything and because of his personality, he analyzes it and gives me his thoughts. While I wish he didn't beat up every irritation, I couldn't imagine not having him around." She smiles genuinely and Huntare, whose visage is still hidden under the hood of his robe, nods to her and speaks in his soft spoken tone, "You honor me, Taser." They stop and Z looks at Huntare with a semi-pouty look of displeasure. "You know I hate it when you call me that when it's just us." He looks at Rala and Z chuckles, "Besides you, she's my best friend, Huntare. You can relax around her." He responds, "Your will, Volaer." There is a faint grin from under his cloak and she hits him in the chest playfully. Rala inquires to what Volaer means and Z answers, "Princess in the Old Tongue. Huntare, use my name. I like the way you say it. And while you're at it, when it's just us three, call her Rala. Titles are so stuffy." Knowing that it is a losing battle, he nods. "As you command, Zanya." She smiles and they keep walking and talking.
The three of them arrive at the area nicknamed the Selection Garden. This is the place where graduates of the Sentinel Training Regimen are given their first assignments, which typically inform the graduate as to which sector of the Order of the Sentinel they belong to. The two girls enter flanked by Huntare and once they navigate through to the center, they join some of their other brethren who also recently completed their training. After another ten to fifteen minutes, the group is called to attention as the unit leaders from the Cloaks and Corps arrive. The Corps is the problem solving arm of the Sentinel Order. They are broken into three groups: The Blade, The Shield, and The Orb. The Blade as it sounds is the offensive assault group that specializes in larger scale operations. They attack in force, eliminate an enemy force, generally under some sort of disguise, and disappear just as quickly. The Shield is the defensive group. They guard the HQ and training facilities as well as the secret outposts. Their other function is to protect high profile Kotada that are credible targets for Reaping. Since Reaping is a capital offense within Talodari Society, Sentinel Shield operatives will often protect the asset then try to figure out who else is involved to neutralize the source. The Orb is the most subtle of all three groups. They were originally the diplomats, but they evolved into more of the special operations arm of the Sentinel Corps. They are the precise instrument that is used to eliminate a single target or small group in a specific manner or to rescue an asset in a very dangerous or tricky place. The Orb is also tasked with being Sentinel Hunters. In this role, they are sent after rogue Sentinels or those deemed Corrupt. Most often, Orb Sentinels are sent as part of a Blade or Shield mission. The Cloaks are the support group of the entire Order. The Cloaks gather the information that the Corps uses to conduct their missions. The Cloaks hide in plain sight within the world. They are embedded in every region and at all levels of society it is said. When a human or Talodari noble or village needs help, they often talk to a Cloak operative or a contact that works for a Cloak operative. Their travels also bring updates and intel on recruitment potentials. Information gathering is their primary function. Their secondary function is commerce. They are the business arm of the Order as well. They conduct trade between the villages and the Sentinel Order. They restock supplies and/or funds and deliver them to the Administrators.
They go through the speeches and all of that before they get to the part that everyone is waiting for: The Selection itself. Once it begins, you can see the looks of surprise and disbelief on most faces. Once you are Selected to either join Cloaks or Corps, you have the option to declare which branch of each you wish to specialize in. Things run smoothly as Huntare is selected for Corps and specifically assigned to Orb, which was expected all through his training. It is not often that a graduate is specifically placed, but when someone shows superior aptitude that lines up with a specific subgroup, it is done. There are a few other members of the graduating group that were also specified. A few others are announced and then Zanya is brought forward. There is a pause as they discuss her selection further. Huntare looks at her and she smiles to show him that she was not worried. They announce her for Corps. A lot of Royal and Upper Nobility Kotada that serve the Sentinel are protected in a way and steered towards the Cloaks or are assigned to Corps - Shield to guard the bases. Zanya, however, excels in martial prowess and being from Yujia, she is skilled in extracting information and secrets from people. Since they knew that's how she leaned, they wanted to declare her specifically for Shield so she could be an interrogator at the bases. However, as a Taser, the Selection is essentially never specified for them. She looks straight at them and declares, "Orb." They nod and she joins Huntare with the other Orb recruits.
Rala is called forward after another 10 names or so. She smiles as she gets ready to declare for Orb as well so she can stay as a trio with Zanya and Huntare. The Master of Ceremony nods to her and says, "Rala... Cloaks. Intelligence or Commerce, which do you declare?" Zanya's eyes widen for a moment as she couldn't believe that Rala was being assigned to Cloaks. Rala was also shocked as she hadn't given much thought to Cloaks. She knew where she wanted to be, but her evaluations did not place her in Corps. The MC asks again, "Which do you declare, Rala?" Rala looks at Zanya, who cannot help her with this one. They were best friends, so they discussed missions and what they wanted to do all the time together, but this was not a scenario that they had considered. Huntare knew which area Rala would excel in most. Rala breaks her silence and answers, "Undeclared. I must discuss with my leadership." The Master of Ceremony nods to her and she joins the Cloaks. The rest of the selection ceremony is rather somber as Zanya and Rala knew that they would rarely get to see each other for some time as their missions would take them to very different places. It could be even more difficult because Cloaks are often embedded for long periods of time or establish businesses like taverns that require a great deal of attention and overseeing.
