Game of War - Chapter 1: Hidden Oracles

Ginger followed the traffic of students to the Administrations building. She hugged her arms around her as she entered. Questions swirled in her head as she gazed around the campus.

0in">Where was she? How did she get here? Why was she here? Ginger stopped in her tracks when a tall, lean boy suddenly said,

0in">“You’re in Lor, miss, but I don’t know the answers to the other questions.” He looked kind enough, with a cheeky grin and a mop of red hair. The girl walking alongside him shared the same traits.

0in">“Kyte! What have you been told about reading strangers’ minds?” the girl asked, shooting an apologetic glance at Ginger.

“What? I couldn’t help it. Besides, the brainwaves were too strong to ignore,” Kyte said. 

"Uhm, brainwaves?" GInger asked, unsure of what the siblins were talking about. The girl squinted at her. 

"You're not from here, are you?" she asked, her mahogany eyes unnerving Ginger. Ginger just nodded. The girl smiled. 

"First, proper introductions. I'm Naviene--"

"And I'm Kyte," the red headed boy cut in. Navien mock glared at him and elbowed him in the ribs. Kyte grinned.

"I'm Ginger," she said. 

"Well, since it appears you're new here and on your way to the Admin building, you might as well get going. Kyte and I are on our way to the slots." Navien grabbed Kyte's hand and practically dragged him over to a section of the campus that was filled with stalls. 

"Hey! I'm not a little kid anymore!" Ginger heard Kyte whine before they went out of earshot. She saw Kyte yank his hand out of his sister's grip and wave back to her. Ginger waved back. Smiling to herself, Ginger went on her way. 

~~

The interior of the building was homely, and comfortable. A few bean bags and squishy chairs were in the lobby off to her right, with a table in the center. A few people occupied the bean bags, reading or filling out something in a file they had on their laps. There were two doorways at the back wall, one leading to what looked like another lobby, but the other one was closed, and drafts of cold air blew from underneath the door. 

A woman sat typing behind a desk, her glasses reflecting the computer screen. Ginger walked up to the desk, clearing her throat to get the woman's attention. Ginger saw her name tag read "Krissen" 

"Yes?" the woman asked, stopping her typing and looking up. 

"I'm here to register," Ginger said, hoping her voice didn't waver. Krissen smiled kindly. 

"Alrighty," she said. She looked back at the screen and pulled up the registration tab on her browser. 

"Name and age?" she asked, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. 

"Ginger, 19," Ginger answered promptly. 

"Where do you live?" 

"Earth," 

"Do you know who your invitation came from?" 

"No," 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, ma'am." There was a pause from Krissen. 

"Hmm. I'll check in with Lyzerek about this. For now, you can wait in the back lobby," Krissen said, gesturing to the doorway on the right. Ginger went in, surprised to find a replica of the lobby in the other room. She tentively sat down on an empty bean bag, immediately sinking down. She looked around her, noticing that there were a few other people in there. 9 in all, exlcuding her. A dark brown haired boy was talking to a strawberry red haired humanoid robot. The person sitting closest to her was a greasy haired blond who looked dashing and yet dangerous. He caught her looking and flashed a grin. 

"You been here before?" he asked. 

"No. Have you?" Ginger asked, feeling her cheeks color slightly. 

"Name's Ark," he said, flashing a charming grin. 

"Ginger," she said, not sure how she could get out of this potentially awkward conversation. 

"Do you know what's behind the other door?" she asked, then immediately facepalmed mentally. Duh, he wouldn't know, wouldn't he? He was new here too. But his answer surprised her. 

"Not exactly, but I heard from Tetris over there," he jerked his head over to the girl who was talking with the boy, "and she said that the door leads to the Hidden Oracle," 

"What's that?" Ginger asked. 

"Hey Tetris! Mind comin' over here and explaining to Ginger what the Hidden Oracle is?" Ark said, getting up and taking a seat next another blond haired girl. They struck up a conversation quickly. Tetris came over and took Ark's seat. 

"So, you wanna know about Lor's Hidden Oracle, right?" she asked. Then it looked as if she just mentally facepalm too. 

"Yes," Ginger said. Tetris playing with her sleeve for a bit, gathering her thoughts. 

"Well, it's kinda what the name suggests. It's a Hidden Oracle. But, according to Lorian legends, no one knows how powerful the gem is. The last time it was used, it decimated an entire species, all with one poisonous word and a few specifically placed Tearstones.

"The Oracle isn't what an Earthen oracle does. It doesn't give prophecies, and it's actually rare for Lor Oracles to do that, but Oracles contain power enough to change the outcome of a foreseen event, much like a prophecy does, but with different powers and limits." 

Ginger listened intently. When Tetris finished, Ginger seemed to snap out of a daze. Tetris was looking somewhat nervously at her. 

"Are you okay?" Tetris asked. Ginger nodded and Tetris seemed to release a pent up breath. 

"Alright." Tetris glanced at the clock. "It's time for all of us to head over to Vizzet Tower," she said, getting up and calling the others over. The gathered in a semicircle. 

"But first, we need to some introductions. Let's you start with you," Tetris said, nodding at the browned haired boy Tetris had been talking with earlier. 

"I'm Jakill Van Dann, and I'm from Earth," he said rushing thorugh his words. He glanced at the girl next to him. She took the cue. 

"I'm Margeret from Ruby Star."  

"Glen, from Deat.h City." 

"I'm Edgar of Volta." 

"Griffin from Emerald Star." 

"Rhaeyne, Earth." 

"Cere, Purgutario." 

"Ark, Elinia." 

"Tetris, Lor."

"Ginger, Earth

"Now with introductions done, we should head over to Vizzet Tower before they skin us alive," Tetris said jokingly. The others filed out and took Tetris's lead out onto the campus grounds towards a tall, crystal tower that had a flag flying from it's peak.