Students whose sin powers do not align with their faction will be reassigned to the appropriate faction.
If a bonds forms between students of different factions, onlyone may remain at the academy. The most powerful. The other returns to their bonded’s faction.
Curriculum emphasizes sin power training, political strategy, leadership, economy and diplomacy
Factions shall be trained in their areas of strength
I look around at the other Councilors as we continue planning for our institution. I know each is seeing the academy advantages differently. Pride: political leverage. Envy: information. Lust: manipulation. Me? Wrath, as always, I saw soldiers—strong, disciplined, capable of standing when others fell. Leading through hard times and earning the resources our faction needs to survive.
Suddenly Sloth’s harsh whisper cuts through the murmurs, speaking for the first time: “And… what if a student manifests no sin at all?”
The chamber erupts in laughter.
“Impossible,” Regalia gasped. “A student without power? History would forget them! I thought this is what we are trying to avoid?”
“What are you on about old man?” Drake questions, shaking his head.
“Impossible or not, rules are rules. Only the most powerful will attend the academy. Each faction will be allowed to judge what that means as they see fit. For Wrath, only those with the highest power rating will be allowed to attend. A sinless would not meet that bar.”
I lean back, picturing the soldiers who would walk these halls one day. Wrath will send the strongest, the fiercest, the sharpest minds. Yeteven then, survival will not be guaranteed. This is only the beginning. Collaboration and politics will decide who endures.
1
Thou Shalt Not Hope the World Implodes
Arwen
The heat clings to my skin like punishment. Sweaty bodies in ripped and dirty clothing move forward in front of me as I step to follow them. That’s Wrath for you — scorching, suffocating, harsh. My best friend Sadie stands beside me, sweating through her jeans and glaring at the sun through her frizzy auburn curls.
“It seems hotter than usual today… why aren’t you melting like me?” she whines.
I stare at her, half horrified, half amused. “Sadie.It’s Wrath.It’s always hot. Why would you wear jeans?”
I pull at the holes in her worn pants, ripping the fabric. The line outside Apex Arena snakes across the burning sand, everybody pressed shoulder to shoulder, every breath sticky with heat. Sweat stings my eyes, but it’s not the sun that twists my stomach into knots.
Everyone else here is waiting to be claimed. Me? I’m waiting to be erased.
She doesn’t have to say she’s scared; I can feel it in the way she won’t meet my gaze. We’re all trembling under the surface, waiting. Waiting for our names. For our fates.
Normally, I’d make some smart remark to get her to laugh, but my throat is rough, like it’s stuffed with sand. I don’t have room for her nerves when mine are already clawing me apart.
We shuffle forward with the line, one blistering step closer to destiny… or whatever particular cruel joke the universe has waiting for me.
Sadie’s nails worry at the frays on her jeans, pulling at the soft denim threads. "I kept telling myself all summer I was ready for this,” she says, eyes darting toward the arena doors. “But the second that summons showed up… it’s like all my confidence just vanished.”
