The Dragel’s Song
Neilson Hewitt, Episode One
by
Chera Carmichael
The Dragel’s Song
Neilson Hewitt, Episode One
Copyright © 2014 Chera Carmichael
#1 Neilson Hewitt : Episode One
#2 Neilson Hewitt : Episode Two
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to real life individuals, places or situations are purely coincidental. All images used to create the cover were taken from the public domain under the creative commons license.
Acknowledgements: Special thanks to my fans, Betas, Proofreaders and everyone who made my dragel story into the success that it is. You made a writer’s dream come true and this is my thanks to you. Enjoy the read!
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“Step in, stand tall, chin up.” The Medic intoned, standing off to the side of the diagnostic capsule. He held a clipboard in hand and flicked through the results as they came on through.
Neil swallowed hard and stepped inside the ominous tube as the silvery door slid shut behind him. He really didn’t want to do this, but every single student, upon eighteen years of age was required to be tested for their creature inheritance and it was something that Neil wasn’t looking forward to.
Some people already knew what they would be, and had already bribed and excused themselves with the appropriate permission slips from the necessary offices. Of course, if you already knew what kind of creature you were there was no reason for you to worry about such a stupid thing as a projection test and you were free to continue on as you pleased.
Neil personally didn’t quite care, but he didn’t have a choice and he certainly couldn’t ask his family as to what he could be, if anything. His adoptive father would laugh him out of the house and his adoptive mother would shriek at him for being even more of a freak than usual. His adoptive siblings? Well, Neil had learned early on that his step-siblings were just mini torturers-in-training who would try and milk him for blood if he’d let them or couldn’t otherwise defend himself.
The newly adopted kids out from the welfare system were just as hopeless and twisted as him, so they weren’t exactly any more welcoming or appreciative of their newly adopted status. They knew they were being used for the money that the government would send and they expected to be kicked out the moment that money stopped.
That was yet another reason that Neil was not looking forward to this eighteenth birthday of his. The day meant that he was no longer young enough to require additional financial assistance, as he should have his own job by now and as such, the family hosting him would no longer receive a stipend in compensation.
He didn’t know if his adoptive father would come for him or not, but he didn’t want to put too much thought into that as yet. The family, who had taken him in, the Synders, had managed to cultivate something of a reputation for all the foster children.
Neil had heard how the oldest children had been mysteriously left at school, married off too quickly for proper formal ceremonies or apprenticed into careers straightaway so that they could earn their keep. Unfortunately, that was only for the normal ones.
Neil learned that the moment the Synders discovered that he had magic; it was another reason for them to call him a freak. He was lucky that Noir Academy accepted poor students on goodwill scholarships, even if the guidelines and requirements for receiving and keeping it were quite strict. He knew there was no way he would have ever learned any type of magic, much less how to control the odd, strange gift that coursed through his veins, if it hadn’t been for Noir Academy.
Scholarship students at Noir were allowed to work in exchange for room, meals and classes. They could even earn a bit extra on the side, if they were smart and hardworking enough to score well in the basic education curriculum.
Basic education was the bare minimum requirement for lower tier jobs. Anything above an average level required specialized classes or an apprenticeship to a master for anywhere from five to eight years, until the craft was suitably mastered. Neil had wanted to be a Healer, but that required extra training and he couldn’t afford the higher course fees.
He could, of course, take all the basic courses and work extra to save up until he could afford to take them. Completing a general education certification—the improved version of a basic education curriculum—would allow him to find a stable job with a steady paycheck. Hopefully that would help him to support himself for a little while until he could decide for sure what to do with his life.
His inattention was roughly jerked back to the present when the attending Medic’s voice droned through the small speaker at his side. “Look into the viewfinder in front of you. It will automatically adjust to be at eyelevel, hold your breath on the count of three, the light will turn red, when it flashes green, breath normally and keep yourself as still as possible. The scans will read your magical level and biological inclinations towards all creature types recorded in the Federation’s database.”
Neil swallowed, resisting the urge to nod, since that would mean movement. He settled for a stiff squeak of an answer. All week he’d dreamed of this torture chamber of sorts and though it wouldn’t lay a physical finger on him, the sensation of his very existence being examined by machines and checked against a ridiculous set of predetermined species approved by the Federation would decide whether he could live or not. It didn’t matter to them that possessing a gene he had no control over would determine his destiny.
The viewfinder adjusted to his sitting height and Neil blinked a few times as he waited for it to stop whirring. His eyes had begun to ache something fierce in the past few weeks and he hadn’t been able to figure out why. On top of that, he’d been having weird nightmares and even when he took a sleeping aid—they came anyway.
Nearly all of his nightmares had ended with him dead or his friends dead alongside him. With his present luck, Neil hoped that he’d just survive. Once he made it out of the tube, he could decide what to do with the information, unless he happened to be one of those odd creatures that weren’t anything to worry about at all, then his original plan would be fine.
Of course, he didn’t think he could be that lucky, but then again, he’d been hoping that—oh, the light was blinking. Neil squinted, leaning forward, instinctively, to see well. He belatedly remembered to hold his breath and nearly faltered when the light remained red and unchanging.
When he thought he wouldn’t be able to manage another second, the light flared green and Neil gulped in a huge, gasping breath. He scowled into the visor and tried to make out a shape amidst the shifting rainbow color of light. This was where most individuals could see their predicted creature type and it was the first hint towards knowing what they would be and where their life would go from there.
Friendly creature types usually went to work in creature-specific fields, while unfriendly creature types either had time to set their affairs in order or somehow mysteriously disappeared in the night. Neil closed one eye, hoping that would help.
To his confusion, he couldn’t make out anything more than a giant, hulking shadowed form. At one point, he thought he was staring into a void, until the shape moved and he realized that the shreds of light peeking through were from around it, rather than actually being ‘it’.
As he watched, the shape began to shrink and twist, until it became an almost grotesque half-human hybrid, showcasing a human form with massive, outstretched leathery wings and curved hands and feet, bearing large pointed claws.
Fear stabbed through Neil’s chest as he fought to keep his composure, knowing that everything within the prediction chamber was recorded for later use. He hoped there would be some sort of warning before something seri
ous happened.
The creature type registered just as the shadow shrank down to normal human proportions without a hint of wings, claws or fangs in sight. Neil gasped when the species ‘dragel’ flared across the digital screen. He had precisely fifteen seconds to recognize and process the information, before his mind caught up to the implications.
Dragels were thought to be extinct creatures—and when they’d been alive, they were classified as dark for reasons that remained unknown, even in their present age. A dragel inheritance hadn’t been discovered in over two thousand years—according to the current history text files.
In all of his wonderings as to why he was always so different from everyone else, Neil had never thought he’d be an extinct creature. To be even remotely related or considered a carrier of a dark creature’s gene meant nothing but trouble.
The earlier stab of fear was replaced by a sudden surge of absolute panic and Neil found himself desperately wishing that there was some way he could keep the results from getting out. There was no time for any escape now, it was too late for bribes or parental notes and the moment he stepped out, the results of the test would appear on the Medic’s information tablet. Once it was in the Medic’s hands that would be that.
Neil’s hands curled into fists and when the surge of irritated magic flared through him, he didn’t bother to temper it. This would likely be his last moments unless—a muffled explosion sounded from outside the chamber and the tube went pitch black.
A whiff of smoke and dry, hot air filtered through the overhead vent. Neil lurched back from the visor, his hands automatically coming up at his sides as he pounded on the walls, trying to find the latch to let himself out.
The door was jerked open a minute later and two panic-stricken Medics in white-suits sprayed him down with flame retardant spray. He was helped out from the charred tube and ushered to sit on a small stool with his head between his knees, while someone took his pulse and another attempted to draw a blood sample.
“W-what happened?” He croaked, feebly.
“That’s what I would like to know,” the presiding Medic said, annoyed. He’d tucked his stylus behind one ear and his informational tablet was under one arm. “What was your result?”
“Didn’t it come through?” Neil countered, shying away from the needle. He made a face when the assisting Medic behind him, simply held him still for the blood sample to be drawn. It hurt, but he wasn’t allowed to complain—not when he was a scholarship student, anyway.
The Medic looked at him, sharply. “Actually, right before they were fully downloaded, the entire system crashed from a magical overload.” His gaze narrowed. “When was the last time you had your magic tested and measured?”
“First of the year,” Neil said, promptly. “Sir,” he added, when the Medic continued to scowl at him. “It hasn’t changed; it’s been the same since I’ve first attended. None of my teachers have had any complaints about it”
The Medic’s scowl grew even darker. “Consider yourself volunteered for a thorough reevaluation,” he snapped. Whipping out his stylus from behind his ear, he tapped at the informational tablet, and then printed out a thin, plastic card. “Show this to the Medic on duty at eight tomorrow morning, sharp!” He thrust the card into Neil’s limp hands. “Are you sure you didn’t see what you were?”
“Not really,” Neil looked down at the card, turning it over in his hands. “I saw a shadowy kind of form, but when it started to get clearer, it sort of—everything went dark, then there was smoke and I couldn’t breathe.” He scowled, “and then the door opened and I was sprayed down with-”
The Medic grunted in answer and turned away to the waiting queue. There was no reason to doubt someone like Neil, a scholarship student with no redeeming factors and nothing outstanding on his person. There were dozens of others waiting to be tested and while most of them would register as magical beings, only about ten percent or less would have some sort of creature kind in their veins. There was likely nothing missing, except for the magical spike, but those were common during the final years of magical growth that could last up until the mid-twenties.
Neil was shuffled out of the testing rooms and into the open hallway, away from all the testing equipment and still clutching the green appointment card. He didn’t dare breathe a sigh of relief, not yet anyway.
It was said that a Medic could always tell when you were lying, but Neil had trusted in the fact that he appeared sufficiently shaken for any readings of a lie detector to be somewhat skewed. He didn’t want to think on that yet, not until he had some privacy to himself.
On the way out, he’d caught sight of the charred tube and just seeing it, made his stomach roil and churn. He was lucky to have gotten out of it, considering how bad the outside looked. Memorizing the time slot and Medic bay number, Neil pocketed the card and checked his timepiece.
His best friends, Elyenka Teruh and Kendall Norton were supposed to meet him after their tests and he was eager to see a few friendly faces. Kendall was a partial scholarship student as his parents had twelve children and paid half of their tuition, once said child had made up their mind on a path of study.
Elyenka was a child prodigy in music and math, somehow managing to be the exception of a female that was well skilled in both the arts and the sciences. Her teachers were often trying to keep her from studying too much, but Elyenka could be sneaky. Even though she practically camped out in the library, her extracurricular activities consisted of being the third in their friendship trio and she was a good friend to both young men.
Neil hoped that she would have received a good report—or at least something useful, if there was any creature inheritance to be had—he knew there were many students and professors who were hoping that she had some sort of creature inclination, so they could credit for her academic success, but Neil personally thought that was stupid. Elyenka was smart because she wanted to be and he was fairly certain that she was one-hundred percent human.
She studied long, hard and well. He occasionally asked her for help, but only after he’d made some progress in his own efforts, because Elyenka could be a harsh taskmaster when she had a mind to be. Kendall often teased her, saying it was on account of trying to live up to the impossible footsteps of her late older brother. Her older brother had died discovering a cure for a rare strain of lethal bacteria, causing massive viral infections. He’d crafted an antidote that was still precious today—given that chemical warfare hadn’t ended until the past decade or so—and Elyenka had been the first child born with the gene mutation that allowed her body to naturally produce the necessary antibodies to keep her immune system in a properly working and functioning order.
Neil was thinking so intently on her that he jumped when she crept up beside him, linking her arm around one of his. “Yenka!” He bit back the yelp in his throat. He really had let his guard down too far and tried to compensate by hurriedly pulling himself together. He could freak out over the discovery later—much later. “How’d it go?”
Elyenka made a complicated face and gave a short jerk of her head. “I’ll tell you when Kendall’s here,” she said, looking around for their tall, awkward friend. “Isn’t he out yet? I thought you’d be the late one.”
“Hey!”
“You’re always late,” Elyenka said, pinching the inside of his arm. “I’m surprised you don’t have half as many demerits as Kendall does. I think he’s planning to paper his bedroom wall with them.”
“Ow—stop that. No, I’m not. That was once. Once, Yenka.”
“And I shall never let you live it down,” Elyenka smirked. It had only been that one time, but there were few things that she felt comfortable teasing him about. Neil could be too self-sacrificing at times, but she’d learned that it was best not to pry into his life—unless invited. “How was yours? I heard that something big happened over there and several someones managed to get out of it at the last minute.”
“Something big? Which
someones?” Neil allowed himself to be pulled along into her enthusiastic stride. He could tell that they were on their way to the other testing section across the floor.
“Something big like an entire test tube blowing up,” Elyenka said. She turned around to walk backwards, still towing him forward by one arm. “If I walk into something, I’ll kill you.” she said, cheerfully. “Direct me.”
“I’ll die happy,” Neil said, dryly. He angled his steps a bit to the left to compensate for the turn in the walkway up ahead. “It was probably me. I was in a tube when it caught on fire or something.”
“On fire?” Elyenka stopped dead in her tracks. “On, fire—Neil!” Her soft green eyes roved over his entire form, searching for any visible injuries and not seeing anything wrong. “Did you see the Medics yet? Did they let you in?”
“I’m fine, the Medics checked me out right away,” Neil assured her. “In fact, I got a healthy dose of flame retardant. I’m completely fireproof at the moment.”
“You must be fine.” Elyenka rolled her eyes. “Trust you to think of that,” she said, but her worried look eased a bit and after a moment, she began walking again—this time in the right direction. “What happened? Did you have some sort of magical reaction?”
“I think so,” Neil said. “That obvious?”
“There are only three things that would ever make a tube explode,” Elyenka said, matter-of-factly. “Manufacturer malfunction, sabotage or a testing subject’s data was incorrectly entered.”
“Ah,” Neil allowed. “I guess you’re right then.”
“What did they say?”
“I’ll have to be reevaluated,” Neil fished in his pocket for the green appointment card. He held it up as proof. “Tomorrow morning at eight,” he said, mournfully. “I’ll have to miss classes, probably all day.” A slight furrow made itself known in his forehead. “I wish I could take the tests on the weekend.”
“Skip the appointment,” Elyenka said, sensibly. “Say that you were in class, then show up afterward and ask for it to be rescheduled.”
“I can do that?” Neil stared at her. “I’ve never had to-”
“I do it all the time,” Elyenka shrugged. “Always works.”
“You’re a paid student and in every single honor society we have,” Neil said. “I’m just a scholarship student, not even a partially sponsored one like Kendall.”
“What about me?” Kendell tumbled out into the hallway, nursing his head from where he’d bumped it on the doorway. His sweaty mop of scruffy brown hair had just enough length to reach his eyes and curl at the nape of his neck. He grinned cheekily upon seeing Elyenka’s look of irritation. “How did your test go, O great and wise one?”
“I’ll kill you instead,” Elyenka said, lowly. “Congratulations, Neil. You’re spared.”
“What? Me? I’m wounded!” Kendall said, theatrically. “Guess what I am?”
“Not human,” Elyenka muttered. “Like that’s a surprise. Don’t be an idiot and announce it to the whole hallway.” She cast a look over her shoulder. There were only a few loitering students present, but she wasn’t about to talk freely. “Come on, both of you, this way. Let’s get an early lunch and then we can talk.”
“Lunch?” Kendall’s grin turned a bit goofy. “That’s my favorite subject.”
Neil elbowed him, but they shared a grin over Elyenka’s head, following her obediently out of the testing section of the Noir Academy and back towards the civilized hallways. He was curious to know what her results had been, it seemed like her news was rather important.