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CHAPTER 1 - PART 1

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon in Oakley Falls. I sat on the tree stump in the backyard, near the forest. "Leaves are falling, on the ground. Falling down, without sound" I hummed and watched as they fell down. Like every year, the trees of the forest turned a beautiful red. "Kaleb, dinner is ready!" mom called from the back porch. "I'm coming!" I called back and stood up. My name is Kaleb, by the way. Kaleb Ryder. My family consists of my father, Richard, 33. My mother Heather, 35, and my little sister, Rachel, 8. I just turned 16, but people say I always look a little older. And we're all huskies. "It smells great!" I said as I entered the kitchen and wagged my tail. "Great?" Dad asked. "It smells overwhelming! Who doesn't love some pancakes from Heather?" We all laughed and sat down. Before I could even start to eat, the doorbell rang. "Who could visit us at this time?" Mom asked and stood up, but I was already in the hallway. That's when I catched his scent. I ran to the door and pulled it open. Uncle Gabe dropped his case as I threw mysef at him. "Hey there, Kale" He said and hugged me. My tail wagged to and fro happily. As soon as I let him go, Rachel ran to him, clinging to his leg. "Hey there, lil' puppy" he said and ruffled her hair. "I'm no little puppy, I'm already eight!" she insisted and kicked him. Uncle Gabe let out a little whimper and pushed her softly away. "That's something she got from her mother" he said, grabbed his case and walked with us to the kichen. Mom just looked at him for a while and said nothing. Then she walked over to him and hugged him. When she stepped back, she also kicked him. "That's for not visiting for such a long time" she said and put a plate for him on the table. "Rachel is definetely coming after her mother" he said and sat down. "So how was your journey, Gabriel?" Dad asked between a few bites. "Well, Itsh been gweat" he answered with a full mouth. "Gabe, I thought mom tought you manners" Mom said and shook her head. Uncle Gabriel swallowed and repeated what he said "Well, It's been a great journey" "What exactly did you do?" I asked and looked at him. "Oh, just some research for the university" he said and looked on his plate. We remained silent for the rest of the dinner. After that, I went to my room to read a little. It was a fantasy book, about magic and such stuff. When I was half through the chapter I started, someone knocked on my door. "Come in!" I said and put the book away. Uncle Gabe opened the door and stepped in. "I have a little something for you." he said and reached in his pocket. He pulled a letter out, sealed with blue wax. "What's that?" I asked and tilted my head. "You always said that you wanted to go to university" he said and handed me the letter. "You don't mean..." I started, but he interrupted me. "Yes, It's an invitation to my university" he said with a smile. "But don't open the letter until your folks are asleep. They don't know about my plans." I just nodded and put the letter under my pillow. "We talk again tomorrow" Uncle Gabe said and walked out, closing the door behind him. I was curious what the letter contained, but my mind soon wandered off to other things. My room had a bathroom right next to my wardrobe. I locked my door and stripped my clothes off while I walked into the bathroom. I turned the water on and grabbed my toothbrush. That's the way I liked it, letting the bathroom get steamy while I brushed my teeth. By the time my teeth were clean the bathroom was like a sauna. I stepped into the warm water and rinsed my body from anything. I sighed and began to soap up. Moving my hands over my body, I thought about Uncle Gabes University. He just told us that it's called "AAA", but he never told us what exactly that meant. And he never talked about the classes. I've noticed that he never liked to talk about that subject. I shook my head and turned the water off. The towel always hung in the same place next to the sink, so I just needed to reach out my hand. Drying myself, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought about how much I changed in the last years. My face grew more masculine, and I got taller than my parents. I shook my head again and put on my pajama. It was already 10 PM, so I assumed my parents were asleep. Reaching for the letter I thought about what it could contain. I placed it on my bedside table and looked at it for a while. After a few minutes I took it and ripped it open. "Dear Kaleb"_I read aloud. _"This is an official invitation to the Academy of the Ancients Arts. I assume you have never been told what it is. But you will know for the next years. Your Uncle will take you with him when you're ready. The school year didn't start, so you still got time. Now for an part that will make you wonder. _Read the words below aloud when you are alone. _ _Don't be afraid. Nothing bad will happen. _ _If nothing should happen, you will stay at your place." _ I read over the words, but I couldn't make out the meaning of this sentence. I never read a language like that before. But still I wanted to read them aloud. "Me nem na Kaleb. Kratem to ni Godas" I said. As I finished the sentence, my voice still hung in the air. It raised to many whispers and I looked around. I could literally read the words in the air. "My name is Kaleb." I said. "Chosen by the Gods." I felt a sudden breeze blowing through my room that blew the letter from my hands onto my chest, right over my heart. Then it started to emit light, and I felt a pain in my chest. I was thrown back by the pain. The letter was burning into my chest! I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. Suddenly I heard a voice. _"You have been heard, Kaleb Ryder"_the voice said and the pain faded. I looked around, but I was alone in my room. The letter and the envelope were both gone. I laid down, closed my eyes and thought nothing of it. But as I drifted into sleep, I felt that something had changed. Unable to name the thing that changed I let my mind wander into the land of dreams. After a few minutes I opened my eyes and saw the sky. "This must be a dream." I said and stood up. Looking around I realized I was on a meadow. There was a path in the knee-tall grass, so I decided to follow it. At the end of the path was a tall wolf, shooting at a target that stood a hundred meter away. He always hit the bullseye. He shot the last arrow from his quiver and turned around to me. I looked at him, from head to toe. He was gorgeous. His body was so perfect, as if he would be a... "God?" he asked and tilted his head "Yes, I am" he said and looked into my eyes. I barely noticed that I got down to one knee. "Stand up, young one." he said and pulled me up. "My name is Aeris, God of Air." "Why am I here?" I asked, almost unable to progress the presence of a God. "Because you've been chosen worthy of the Gift" he answered and handed me the bow. "I assume you know how to use this" he said. I just nodded and took an arrow that stuck in the ground. The feathers were dark, and the arrowhead was made of a metal I've never seen before. I pulled the arrow back and let it fly. It hit the target near the arrows that Aeris shot. "That was a nice shot, young one" he said and patted my shoulder. "I am sure you'll have some questions." he said, looking deep into my eyes. "But this is not the time, and I am not the one who should answer them. I will tell you one thing, Kaleb. You were chosen by me. You are always under my protection." Then he took the bow from me and walked to the target to collect the arrows. "I will give you one last gift. Don't be afraid, young one." he said, pulled an arrow back and aimed at my heart. He let the arrow fly. It looked slower than it really was. But I felt the power it contained. It hit my heart and I let the air flow out of my lungs. I fell on my back and closed my eyes. As I opened them I looked at the ceiling of my room. "That was one hell of a strange dream" I said and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. The clock on my bedside table was at 6 AM. Luckily School was over for this year. So I got up and stumbled into the bathroom. I yawned, stretched and grabbed my toothbrush. With one smooth movement I turned on the shower to let it steam. I put the toothbrush away, rinsed my mouth with water and stepped into the shower. It was really amazing to shower in the morning. You could just wash off anything that happened in your dreams. Especially if those dreams were strange as the one I had. After a few minutes I turned the water off and grabbed the towel to dry myself. I looked over my body as I dried it and noticed something. There was a mark over my heart. It was a spiral that started over my heart and worked it's way up to my shoulder. Then I noticed my eyes. They were different than yesterday. I leaned closer and noticed they moved. Usually they where a bright silver, but now they looked like clouds on a sunny day. I shook my head and backed away. "It was only a dream" I said and turned my back to the mirror. My clothes were on a rack right next to the shower. I always prepared them the night before. I put them on and went into the kitchen. Uncle Gabe was also on his way and leaned closer to me. "Don't tell them" he whispered. I understood what he meant and remained silent for the whole breakfast. "Is something wrong, my dear?" Mom asked when she finally noticed my silence. "It's just been..." I started and looked at Uncle Gabe. "A strange dream." I finished and continued my silence.