The Seven Shepherd Captains gathered together to have a discussion they normally wouldn’t ever be having about the admissions of the candidates to Shepherd Academy.


    “Why is this batch of candidates any different from last year that they would need all of our attention?” a voice commented.


    The Seven Captains were sitting around a large circle table. The ceiling was high, and each chair at the table had a bright light shining on it. Behind every chair was also a door at least 20 feet away from it. Seven chairs with seven doors all led up to the round table.


    The voice spoke again. “Usually, these meetings are to tell us about some great threat or to congratulate someone. I feel the newest Captain of the Shepherd Council is making light of this call.


    “Captain Alcon, I assure you this is something worthy of ALL our attention.” The feminine voice spoke.


    “We have five candidates that could easily change the balance of power within our ranks. Five are from political families. The other two are anomalies. They both are Sentient Beings and Superior at the same time. This is not strange, but they are pretty much nobodies.” The feminine said.


    The Captains started looking around at each other without saying a word. They all understood now that this was a very important matter.


    Shepherd Captain Alcon held his hand up to his mouth, coughing slightly, and said. “My apologies, Captain Amina. What do we know about the two anomalies so far?”


    Captain Amina looked at Alcon with eyes that could cut if it were possible. “Has this fool forgotten that I’m his equal even before I gained my title as Captain?” Amina quickly disregards the thought and gets back to the matter at hand. In real-time, only a few seconds have passed.


    “The first one is named Kenan Ogun. At first, our recruiter thought that this kid was from the Ogun family, like Shepard Captain Cinder. However, the kid denies this himself. Given his location and superior ability, we have no reason to believe he’s lying.” Amina explained.


    Everyone in the room turned to Cinder. She remained as if she was not giving any signs. She neither confirmed nor denied her relationship with this boy. Some of the captains made note of this. Others didn’t care at all.


    Amina continued. “The other is Named Edith Gardner; she’s an Orphan with no blood relatives to speak of. The recruiter said that Edith was the strongest recruiter she had ever seen. This recruiter is getting ready to retire next year after serving 30 years.”


    Amina was standing in the middle of the large round table. She swiped up on her tablet and displayed the profiles of both candidates.


    “It says here that the mother of Kenan is deceased and the father is deceased as well, making Aria Watts his primary guardian.


    “Isn’t she the Vis-Captain to Prof.Network?” Alcon spoke.


    Now, everyone’s head turned towards Prof. Network. Who was a hologram? He had a bold head with a nice clean-cut Beard. Most people thought he was way too good-looking to be the head scientist of the Pasture. He reminded people how unfair life was with his brain and his looks combined.


    The hologram of Prof.Network was very clear. The only indication that he wasn’t in the room physically was the blue glow around him. Still, if one stood close enough, they would be able to see through him slightly.


    “Mhmm, come to think of it, I do remember hearing her say that she had adopted her childhood friend’s kid. I don’t remember when she said that, though, maybe seven months ago.” I can’t remember exactly, the professor said.


    “Surprisingly enough, both of these two are from underdeveloped Cities.”


    “Which raises the suspicion that Vis-Captain Aria could have created new ground within the superior Elixir. Alcon spoke.


    Prof. Network began to laugh. “Alcon never says that again out loud. To create a Superior Sentient Elixir is vastly beyond what Bethal Pasture is capable of in terms of being able to produce one. To the people that acquire one, it is only due to them having connections outside the continent and a tremendous wealth. It would be better to try to awaken naturally as a Sentient being than abstaining from an SSE.”


    Some Shepard Captains nodded their heads in agreement with the Prof.’s words. It was more likely for you to awaken than not only finding an elixir but finding one you would be compatible with.


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    “But I’m glad you have such confidence in my Vis-Captain. I’ll put in a good word for you.” Prof. Network said.


    “There will be no need for that. I just assumed because she’s the highest ranking Shepard in that city and her being a chemist.” Alcon said to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room.


    Amina continued. “I motion that these two candidates either go to my unit or Prof. Network.


    “I second that motion,” Cinder replied.


    This sparked a question mark in everyone’s minds, even those who weren’t interested in the beginning.


    “I’ll agree with that motion as well, but only after Captain Amina explains why, just so everyone is on the same page.” Prof.Network said.


    “Gladly, but everyone already knows what I’m getting at. Prof. Network and I are the only units considered neutral. The rest of you are tied to families with wealth, power, and deep roots within our continent. It’s best to get at least these two out of the equation to avoid a tip too far on either side. I’m sure you all can figure out the other five for yourselves.”


    “I agree with this motion as well,” Alcon spoke.


    With that, the rest of the Shepherds Captain agreed. They couldn’t afford to oppose Alcon. Not directly. The only one crazy enough to do it was Amina.


    Cinder looked over at Amina and shook her head in disappointment. “She’s still new, but she’ll quickly learn how powerful Alcon is. He’s just giving her the respect she’s owed due to making it amongst our ranks. When in reality, none of us here are his equal.”


    ***


    Kenan was homeschooled growing up, and he moved around a lot as a little kid, but he and his mother would always return to their original home, where he lived with his father. He knew Greenwood City fairly well, although he was from district three of the city. He never spent any time there now that he was older, so he was shocked to find out that there were three dojos in section 3.


    “My family’s dojo is the oldest of the three. We have been around for three generations now,” Cole said as he pointed at the building. It was a building that looked like someone had built it by hand, like every brick lay had a specific purpose that only the builder was aware of.


    “The architecture is amazing. I can’t wait to see the inside.” Kenan said.


    “Alright, well, let’s head in. I can’t wait to tell my parents the good news,” Cole said. He raced in, Kenan following right behind him.


    “MA!!” Cole shouted as he opened the double door. For a split second, Kenan thought he felt killing intent, but it wasn’t directed at him but Cole.


    SMACK


    “How many times do I have to tell you, my thick-headed son, not to shout while you’re indoors! The woman shouted. Kenan could only assume that this woman was Cole’s mother. She was tall for a woman and had gray strands in her long locs that were tied in a large ponytail.


    “Yes, ma’am. Even though you were just shouting too,” he said the last part as more of a mumble.


    “Ma, this is Kenan. He is now my brother, which I’ll explain to you and Pops once he gets here,” Cole said. He was holding the back of his head due to his mother’s blow. “How is she so good at that technique?” he thought.


    “Oh, we have a guest. Well, you should have started with that son,” Cole’s mother said once she noticed Kenan’s presence.


    “I never got a chance either,” Cole mumbled.


    “Hello, Ma''am, my name is Kenan. I just met Cole today, and although I do consider him my friend, I’m not sure how serious he is about me being his brother,” Keanan admitted.


    Cole quickly turns to Kenan with a shocked expression. “I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. I brought you here so we could do an old ceremony to honor our brotherhood. My parents can be the witnesses.”


    “Did you get that off of one of your little anime shows? I told you not to watch stuff like that anymore. All they do is sexualize women!” Cole’s mother shouted.


    Cole fakes a cough in his hand. “That’s not the point.” He fakes and clears his throat. “Ma, please, you’re embarrassing me.” He says, looking around.


    Cole’s mother turns around and sees that her students have stopped practicing to see what the fuss is about. She says, “Get back to work, or I’ll show you the same technique I just showed my son.” Her students quickly go back to practicing.


    Kenan took a look around in amazement; he was in a large open area with a high ceiling and a floor. He saw melee weapons that he thought only he knew about, with punching bags that looked like you could crack your knuckles on if you hit them. It was a martial artist’s heaven.


    “This place is beautiful. Kenan said as he started to walk around. The first thing he went to was the bunching bags. “Woah, you have gravel in some of these. No wonder your punch almost knocked me out.”


    “I just moved up to the gravel bag this year, actually, and I think it’s due to me getting the superior elixir,” Cole said.


    “Oh, right, I forgot about Cole being the only superior in his family.” Kenan thought. “Wait, so you’re saying normal humans use these?!”


    Both Cole and his Mother smirked. “Yeah, My dad, mom, and two uncles,” Cole said.


    Kenan looked at the bag again and realized it was used regularly. “This has got to be like a 7700-pound bag, and they have some heavier than this. His family must be absolute monsters. Only someone with super strength should be practicing with something like this,” he thought.


    “I guess this isn’t too crazy. Thanks to Aunt Aria, I have a gravity room in my gym at home. I see my dad doing something like this if he didn’t have the money.


    “So tell me, Kenan, do you practice martial arts?” Cole’s mother asked.


    “Yes, ma’am, I know a little,” Kenan replied.


    “Liar! A little would be an understatement, Cole said. “Ma, he beat me, and I wasn’t holding back.”


    Cole’s mother made a surprising look at Kenan. She didn’t take Kenan at first glance to be a martial artist. If anything, he would have thought he was an Oracle.


    “If I may ask Kenan, who taught you martial arts.” Cole’s mother spoke.


    “My dad, I doubt you know him, though his name is Malachi Ogun.”


    “Oh, I see. Well, I would love to see you displace some of your techniques, the ones that you feel comfortable with, of course” Cole’s, mother said.


    “Yes, that’s fine. After all, we are in a dojo, and I wanted to look at that bow staff you’ve got over there. Kenan said, walking over to the weapons rack.


    “I thought he would be more reserved than most people who keep their martial arts a secret. It’s either he’s ignorant of the world or has enough confidence that nothing he will show us will be a serious threat to himself. Cole’s mother thought.


    “Alright, everyone. Clear the floor and gather around our guests who would like to educate us,” Cole’s mother said.


    “Yes, Master Autumn,” They all replied in unison.


    Kenan looked at these dojo disciples uniformly and approved that they wore dark gray and had different-colored ropes attached to their arms based on their level of discipline. This was just a guest Kenan made; he thought it would be weird if they had different colors with no meaning at all.


    “It’s a Good thing I’m still in my workout clothes. I just can’t believe these clothes self-repair. Although it does seem a little tighter on my chest from being mended, it just looks form-fitting now,” Kenan thought, looking at his sweat suit.


    Kenan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He started to slowly twirl the stuff back and forth across his body, getting faster and faster. It got so fast that you could start hearing the air around the staff as it continued to gain speed. Just when the disciples thought Kenan was about to fly away because of all the wind he was producing, he broke momentum and struck three times at three invisible opponents.


    “Wow, that was amazing, bro. I never would have guessed you chose staff for your weapon.” Cole said.


    The rest of the disciples, who were mainly 10 to 14 years old, started giving applause and cheers. Master Autumn, Cole’s mother, would scold them for their lack of discipline. But even she had to admit it was an impressive feat. “I bet only Cole and I saw those three moves in their entirety. It wasn’t anything special per se. But it was executed, I dare say, perfectly. “This boy must


    have been trained since he could probably lift his arms. Which can only mean one thing. There’s a man out there just as crazy as my husband.”