Enter Caben
Chapter One
Enter Caben
Whoosh! A strong wind blew outside the walls of a black castle, rattling the large golden bell above in one of the enormous black stone towers.
Ching! Ching!
The sound caused the students inside to cover their ears as they rung like vibrating cellphones. Outside, the clear blue sky shone full of clouds and sunlight. The courtyard was full of low cut green grass and had a black book shaped wishing fountain running with water, many silver and gold coins submerged below. Their were also gray stone statues of previous generations of instructors, students and other artifacts . One particular stone statue showed a boy about seventeen standing on a huge leaf suspended in air. There was a moat filled with green water running around the castle going underneath the brown drawbridge. The sound of the running water echoed loudly. The gatehouse, a black shack sat beside the outer gates and in it the gatekeeper lived. The outside from in front of the gate revealed a huge towering defensive gray stone wall. Inside, the gigantic castle looked to be larger than life. It had about ten stories. The youngest grades were at the top with sixth grade being on floor ten and 12th grade on the third floor. The first floor was the onboarding staff while the second was the teachers hangout. From there it went ten floors below ground. A forest to the left, a black sea to the right side, and spiky brown mountain ranges could be seen surrounding the castle. Beyond the mountains was a city. Beyond the forest, another city.
This skyport was marked by mostly lush green scenery. Wild creatures such as dragons , giant bugs, normal animals, and other mythic beasts of every color plagued the landscape.
Farther beyond the school nine other floating cities were present each with their own unique history and geography.
The Ten Major Sky Landing Ports are each the size of a mega-city.
Cerra is a port surrounded by floating oceans and water ecosystems.
Terra is the political capital and headquarters of Skyforce Terra.
Evisol (Love Is Love) is a vibrant cultural city famous for art, music, and celebration.
Mystery is a puzzle-shaped city filled with riddles, labyrinths, and secret paths.
Yrevocsid is an unexplored research port where scientists study the unknown skies.
Frost is a frozen sky port covered in snow and ice.
Disle (Dark Isle) is a shadowy port where light rarely reaches.
Teggun is a golden city known for wealth and rare metals.
Chronal is an ancient mechanical city filled with massive clocks and metal towers.
Log is a forest-covered port that produces most of the world’s oxygen.
This was the world of today.
The instructor at Ryder’s Leaflet Middle-High School tried to regain control of the loud students. This particular bell signaled nothing; in fact, class was just starting.
One of the classrooms, a brown-walled, brown-floor square area, had about twenty black-colored student desks in it, with one white instructor desk up front. The desks were new desks that shown little to no wear. The instructor, a man about forty with a gray beard and dark black eyes, was about to call roll.
Everyone in the classroom, including the instructor, wore a green tunic school uniform, black pants, and black shoes with a black harness secured at their waste. There was a smell of cold gray stone in the air mixed with the body odor of everyone in the warm room.
In this class, there were ten girls and ten boys.
The instructor began in alphabetical order:
“Age 11, boy, brown skin, black hair, brown eyes — Caben Stone.”
“Here.”
Caben sat staring up at the gray stone ceiling looking perplexed as today was the first day of sixth grade.
“Age 11, boy, tan skin, short brown hair, hazel eyes — Daly Thornik.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, boy, light brown skin, messy brown hair, green eyes — Elliott Finch.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, girl, tan skin, long black hair, green eyes — Ira Mosly.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, girl, tan skin, black hair, black eyes — Isla Wren.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, boy, brown skin, short curly hair, brown eyes — Jasiah Grout.”
“Here.”
“Age 12, boy, brown skin, blue hair, brown eyes — Joren Pike.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, boy, brown skin, short black hair, brown eyes — Kato Rivers.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, girl, pale white skin, long black hair, brown eyes — Lena Skye.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, girl, light brown skin, wavy black hair, hazel eyes — Mariah Solace.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, boy, tan skin, messy black hair, black eyes — Milo Grove.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, girl, white skin, straight dark hair, hazel eyes — Nora Dellmonte.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, girl,pale white skin, curly black hair, brown eyes — Oria Bloom.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, girl, lightskin, curly hair, hazel eyes — Pia Grove.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, boy, white hair, blue eyes — Piper Moss.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, boy, light brown skin, spiky black hair, blue eyes — River Moor.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, girl, brown skin, curly dark hair, brown eyes — Saria Vale.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, girl, light brown skin, long blonde hair, black eyes — Tesia Windly.”
“Here.”
“Age 10, boy, pale white skin, messy blond hair, black eyes — Tobin Reed.”
“Here.”
“Age 11, girl, lightskin, long red hair, brown eyes — Yara Bloom.”
“Here.”
“Great, everyone is here. My name is Professor Dondly. I teach first years here at Rider’s Academy. I am thirty-eight years old and a former student at this very skyport.
Now, before we get started, I see that we have three students from the same general neighborhood here: Caben, Jasiah, and Tesia. Interesting… are you three by chance friends?”
The three students looked at each other’s faces and suddenly remembered seeing each other on the 100-passenger transport leaf on the way there.
“We rode the same transport leaf bus here,” Jasiah said.
Professor Dondly clapped.
“Well, hopefully you three get along well in your first year of middle school.”
The professor turned his back to the students and approached a black chalkboard behind his desk. He then picked up a piece of blue chalk.
“As we should all know, I teach history, while Professor Borland teaches rider theory. Just a reminder, As sixth graders, you are finally eligible to enter the National Leaflet Games. Repeat winners often go on to become Leaflet Riders in Skyforce Terra instead of having to work lower-paying positions.
The most common game, Leaflet Toss, is what Borland teaches. It’s a simple ‘carry an object to an area, recover a diamondleaf key, and carry it to three more areas while performing the same operation. After that, you return to your starting position with the keys and the diamond, and you win.’
That is a game of skill and timing.
My lesson today is pre history.”
Professor Dondly turned around after writing on the board.
He then walked closer to the students, breathing calmly yet loudly.
At this moment, Caben had a thought overcome him. Since he was six years old, his dream had been to join Skyforce Terra. Skyforce Terra was the army that protected the skylands, although he wasn’t sure of the history of the land.
He turned his head to look at Jasiah and Tesia and wondered if they wanted to be friends.
They could join my Leaflet riding team as well, he thought, since he knew a team was made of at least three people.
The professor noticed him turn around.
“Caben, that crick in your neck may become permanent if you don’t pay attention to what’s in front of you,” he said.
Caben grimaced.
“Yes, professor,” he said.
The professor had his arms folded behind his back.
“Everyone take out your green leafpens and write down what I have to say.”
The professor waited until everyone had a green leafpen in their hands before continuing.
“1,000 years ago, the world as we know it became subject to continental drift. This was no normal drift, as the continents that broke apart floated into the sky while the land beneath became unlivable, dried-out ridges.
The sun rose higher and no longer reached below, and those who remained beneath succumbed to nature.”
The professor went to his desk and picked up a white map. He then unfolded it for the class to see.
It showed the ten skyports.
“We are here in Yrevocsid. There are nine other skylands with their own distinct geography and history. This year we will only cover Yrevocsid, our skyport — the capital and the home base of Skyforce Terra.”
The professor lowered the map and folded it.
Before Caben could look away, a teen leaflet rider flew past the window.
“Yeah!” he shouted with his arms raised in excitement as he showed his perfect white teeth.
Caben’s heart leaped with enthusiasm. He could almost feel the breeze and excitement.
The professor looked at him and smiled.
“It looks like we have a dreamer here, boys and girls. It’s best to focus on class, or you’ll never be a leaflet rider,” the professor said.
Everyone laughed except for Jasiah and Tesia.
Caben almost cried. He didn’t understand why the professor was being so mean to him.
All his life, Caben had been treated unfairly, even by his mother, and his father was never there. He rarely stayed home and would often panic, then flee to his grandmother’s house or to one of his cousins. This was the truth of how he survived.
No one seemed to care for him, and he blamed his shy nature and unattractiveness.
As Caben sketched dry art on his desk, his mind was filled with rage while the laughter continued. He wanted to attack someone.
Bang!
A sudden black book was slammed onto his desk.
Caben looked up, sniffling, to see that the professor was sitting at his desk. It appeared he had announced a quick break while he handled some business.
Caben looked and saw Jasiah leaving. Tesia was waving as well.
Caben waved back and then looked down at the book.
The book’s title said “A Guide to Leaflet Riding” in green lettering.
Caben smiled lightly and flipped it open.
The first page contained the contact information of Jasiah, (who asked to be called Jay) and Tesia.
“We would like to be your friend, Caben!” the message said in autumn red ink.
A heartwarming feeling took over Caben, and he smiled happily.
Maybe this year things would be better.
