“Esther is based on large deposits of Ether in the western part of the

Woosmior mainland. This happened in the 25th year of the 12th

generation from the moment of the division of the world. The dark times are

over, and the secrets of the Ether, which only a few knew about, have become

public knowledge.

“Lady, could you put away the book, we are still having breakfast,” said the

father.

- Dad, I have a serious test, I dont want to fail it.

- Ha-ha, what is so complicated here, - Anna was clever, - the Light Ones,

under the leadership of Victor Armish, overthrew the Adepts of Darkness in

27. And in the same year, the Ruler, Advisor and Guardian appeared for the

first time.

A ten-year-old sister spoke with a smart look. You must have looked it up

in a textbook.

- My clever! Mom patted her head.

- How can you not know? Anna feignedly waved her hand with bright pink

nails.

- You again took my varnish without permission? How can? I forbid you to

touch my things.

My sister was taken aback for a second.

- You would be better off worrying about your knowledge. How did they

even take you into custody?

“Oh, they haven’t asked such a thief yet,” I snorted in response.

- But you are a helpless coward! Mom says you won't make a guard! You

will end up behind the counter of the store.

“Goat,” I said.

Of course, she exaggerated the words of her mother, but the truth was

somewhere nearby.

Children with ether abilities rarely appeared in our family, and when I was

born, no one knew what to do with me. My gift was unique. It was called

differently - a barrier, a shield, a veil. He made me invulnerable. No attack

could penetrate it. However, the parents decided that this was just a way to

fend for themselves. Therefore, they sent me to a regular school and planned

a different future. But having met Klaus, I'm capable of more.

“There were always few like you,” he said, while preparing me for the

entrance exams to the Academy. “Since the Inquisition in the sixteenth

generation, nothing has been heard of the Walls at all.

Did they put poison in their food? I asked him in horror.

“Tali, relax, they were banned a long time ago,” he reassured me.

But in martial disciplines, I had a harder time than the rest of the students

of the faculty of guardians. I tried my best: I crammed all the subjects and,

sometimes, I came to train at the stadium alone.

So today I had another test coming up, which will not affect anything, but

will only prove to my parents that my choice was not a mistake.

“Anna, hurry up,” said the father. - And don't forget your circular, please.

- What? - I was amazed. - Did you buy her a new one?

- Yes, and look how beautiful, - the sister immediately took out a gray

rectangular object the size of a palm from her pocket.

The communicator consisted of two metal bars that shimmered in the

light and a small crystal in the middle. This new model was sleeker and

smaller than mine.

- She after all already the second time loses his! And I'm still walking

around with this hulk.

“Lady, we can’t leave your sister without a connection,” Mom remarked

reasonably, taking a sip of coffee. - Moreover, Anna will henceforth be

attentive with such expensive things. Really, honey?

The younger sister was the pride of her parents. Anna was engaged in

drawing and studied well at school. They were proud of her and said that she

had a great future. I, in a family where no one had the ability to Ether, seemed

like a black sheep. But the hardest thing was to find a common language with

her father after betraying his dream. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps

and become an architect, not a doomed law enforcement officer.

“By the way, isn’t it customary in this elite institution of yours to arrive on

time?” Father chuckled contemptuously.

Exactly five minutes past eight. I slapped my forehead, instantly flew out

from behind the table and, grabbing my textbook, backpack and bag, ran out

of the house.

- Crap!

There was no one at the bus stop, which means the nearest omnibus will

arrive in ten minutes. Just not to be late, otherwise Professor Wood will

simply not let me into the audience and put me on absenteeism.

I threw my bags on the bench and looked impatiently into the distance.

The sunny morning brought warmth, rare for the rainy season. Yellowed

leaves fell from the trees, painting the street in bright colors. Since childhood, I

loved these narrow paths with low houses along the road. We lived in Garden

Lane, a bedroom community in the northeast of the city. Away from the hustle

and bustle that Esther faced every day.

- Good morning, miss! - nodded the man in a strict gray tunic.

I smiled warmly at the passing guard. Several people daily patrolled the

street and guarded the peace of the residents of the area. However, at night

the security was strengthened, because even here a passer-by can meet the

adepts of Darkness and become a dinner for one of them.

- Did you do your homework? He glanced at my uniform. - We need only

competent graduates.

"Almost," I said miserably. - Is the history with its dates really so important

for the protection of the streets?

The middle-aged guard with gray hair at the temples was an experienced

fighter, as the stars on the shoulder patches spoke of.

- It is not the dates that matter, miss, but our past. Who are we without

him? How can we know that we are fighting for a just cause if the origins of

the struggle are not known?

I looked doomedly at the stranger, thinking over his words. Of course he

was right. If I want to protect the city, then the exploits of past generations

should strengthen my faith in the fight against Darkness. But I hated history.

- By the way, I should warn you, miss. Try to get home before dusk.

- And what happened? I got worried.

“The Dark Ones have loosened their belts again,” the guard breathed

wearily. - Over the past two moons, several victims have been found under

mysterious circumstances. The authorities fear panic, but please be vigilant.

The signal horn of the omnibus prevented me from answering. The long,

angular van was rapidly approaching the stop. Maybe I can still get to

work? Unless, of course, nothing happens along the way.

With a last smile at the guards, I went up to the cabin and, out of habit,

cautiously glanced at the passengers. Fortunately, no ghouls. The warning

from the man patrolling Garden Lane took me by surprise. I looked at him

from the window again. What kind of courage does one have to have in order,

despite the mortal danger, to take to the streets of Esther every day?

“You and Anna are lucky that you were born into the peaceful twentieth

generation,” my father often said. - Even the most ardent opponents of the

Light do not dare to challenge the authority of Anthony Reed. And under the

supervision of Guardian Abrams, the streets have become much safer.

- But why doesn't the ruler forbid the creatures of Darkness to roam the

city? - every time the younger sister was indignant.

She was still a child and did not understand the balance of the laws of

Death. And I didn’t really understand why we obey them. Like any other city-

abode of our world, Esther must maintain a balance between Light and

Darkness. In fact, the internecine war, although it subsided, did not stop for a

day. The Riders of Death, who have to keep their balance, usually don't

care. And only guards and guardians could protect citizens from bloody

clashes between the parties.

"Next stop, Academy," the sleepy voice of the driver announced.

A majestic arch opened up in the form of two stone giants, intertwining

their hands at the top. The statue on the right, in a long robe and with

measured scales, symbolized power and justice, and a warrior with a sword

symbolized strength and power. So five generations ago, when the Academy

opened, the sculptors saw the support and core of the city - the ministers and

guards of Esther. And I still did not believe that now I belong, as it seemed to

me, to the elite.

In the city there was another building of the Academy, where healers were

trained. The rest of the students - future economists, teachers, architects and

engineers - were educated at universities.

Powered by ethereal crystals, like most machines, the omnibus screeched

to a halt noiselessly. Five to eight. Came right back again!

I went out with the rest of the students and ran across the stone tiles of

the academic square, nervously repeating the dates for the test. Getting from

home to the Academy was extremely inconvenient, and, as much as I would

not like, but it seems that sooner or later I will have to move to the campus.

- Hey, watch where you're going!

Out of nowhere, a tall guy with tousled black hair in a student suit

appeared in front of me. A little more, and I would have crashed into him.

- What? It was you who ran into me!

But the stranger with the scar on his cheek did not even turn around.

I again rushed to the training building, as if afraid that any obstacle would

make me forget the memorized dates.

- Lady! Finally! Why are you taking so long? - Joan Ackles' sonorous voice

invigorated better than an alarm clock.

- Late for the first omnibus, as always. Hello everyone, I greeted the

others.

A friend was sitting surrounded by guys who entertained her with

something. Peter Wheatstone, the pudgy red-haired arrogant, smiled back, and

Joan promptly dismissed him.

- Shh, I didnt take this place for you!

“The three of us can have a great time together,” Peter persisted as I got

out my textbook.

From the first days he was not indifferent to Ackles and because of the

similar hair color he considered a kindred spirit. But, unfortunately, it was not

at all to her taste.

- Go-go! his friend sent him.

I chuckled and finally dropped the heavy bags. I would like some of her

confidence. Of course, with green eyes and red hair - it's easy. It seemed that

she was not shy of anyone or anything, and even the academic uniform

emphasized her figure favorably. A friend deftly controlled fire and male

attention. Needless to say, among the female half of the first year, Joan was

enemy number one? However, she also had a low opinion of them.

From the threshold of the audience came the bursting laughter of the

main blonde of the stream - Terry Fisher.

- Joe, how is the night shift? Are you even on your feet? she teased Joan.

“And I have something to do with it,” retorted a friend. - It's you who

complains about lack of sleep every day after being on duty at the bars.

- Haven't you heard? - suddenly exclaimed Thomas Marsh, Peter's nimble

friend. “Tonight, the guards have turned the whole center up on their ears

because of the attack of the Dark Ones. You should be careful with night

walks ...

But the girls just laughed. Fisher decided not to continue and disappeared

to the other end of the auditorium. A friend always easily parried any attacks

against her. It is amazing how an ulcer like Joan managed to get along with

me. She just sat down with me on the entrance tests one day, and away we

go.

- Are you in a bad mood? she whispered as the teacher entered.

- Nonsense, in fact, I had a fight with my parents. Yes, even before the test

I'm nervous, Im afraid to fill up.

- This test was given to you! Before him, we still have a “window” in the

classroom, we want to sit in the new cafe opposite, so you can relax.

- Miss Eccles, tell all of us, we also want to listen - suddenly called

Professor Wood.

- Excuse me, - Joan smiled, opened the notebook to the last page.

“You need to hang out more. And even better - fall in love! - she wrote and

next to the last word she drew a heart.

I smiled and waved her away. Joan and I started talking recently, and she

didnt know much about me. For example, like a year ago, on the way to

school, my life turned upside down. Then I defended Klaus Burch, as probably

every adept of the Light would have done. However, he turned out to be not

just a student, but the son of one of the ministers and an indisputable

candidate for the post of the future Councilor of the city. It occurred to Klaus

that I would make an excellent guardian, and I suddenly had a burning dream

to enter the Academy. He helped me prepare for the exams, and when it

seemed to me that nothing would come of it, he did not let me give up. Even I

did not believe in myself the way Klaus did. Nothing would have been possible

without his help.

Therefore, it was difficult for Joan to understand my feelings. After all the

disagreements with the parents and the sleepless nights before admission,

failing a regular history test is an unacceptable oversight.

- Who will tell me the primary signs of the transformation of a person into

a ghoul? – professors loud question interrupted my thoughts.

- Black eyes! - I heard behind the voice of Peter Wheatstone, a rare

scribbler.