The Sigil

Avalos Compound. 10:47am: May 7th, 2036. Ava’s Birthday. “Soran darling, are you awake?” A soothing and compassionate voice filled the air eagerly greeting her daughter. “Today's a very special day, Dear! You have progressed faster than expected and are now ready to learn the more advanced techniques of the Avalos family. I'm so proud of you!!!” Her mom excitedly continued not even waiting for a response. Meanwhile, tiny Soran was cozily tucked under her feather filled comforter fast asleep on her memory foam mattress. She usually crawled into bed around 9 am from her intense gaming sessions.

“Maria, you know that she likes being called Ava, and, more than likely she probably just got into bed…heh. Our little Ava is something else.” Bastion spoke as he neared his beloved wife and placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead. “I’ll go into her room and get our little princess up and ready.”

As Bastion entered Ava’s room, he saw that the bed was empty. He looked around and saw nothing.

“Boo!!! Ha ha hah ha gyah ha. Did I scare you?”

Ava jumped out using a cloaking technique that she learned during her studies. “Ah, there you are my littlest dear! Great technique! You have progressed so far, and I am proud of you. Come here. You turn five years old today, and your mom and I have something very important to give to you.” Ava hopped around with excitement as her daddy scooped her up off the ground and held her close. She backed her head away, looked into his big shiny light brown eyes with the most adorable smile and asked, “Well…where is the special gift?”

Present Day. 2056. Underground Base. Flint Haven. Boom, boom, boom “Ava…Ava. AVA!!!” A loud banging on the office door and a soft yet commanding voice came into focus as Ava snapped back in from her daydream. It was Ava’s Trusted 1st Lieutenant, Koka Ren. Koka Ren was once the front-runner of the Impure society’s organization, Falcons, until she met her match in both beauty and brains in Ava. Koka was more of the physical beauty than the intellectual type, yet she sincerely admires Ava for adapting in such a brutish time. The country has been divided into two castes for several decades, Solis and the Impure; the makers and the takers. Ava was born into a Solis family, while all Koka Ren knows are the failed governments that left the once thriving land of Flint Haven to fend for itself. Koka was the runt of six children, thus she always had a little extra to prove. In her world, might is power, while in the world that Ava grew up in, controlling the numbers was all that ever mattered. Both knew that there was a better way of survival, and each have only just begun uncovering answers to transform the current country that they live in today.

“Yes, what is it Koka?” Ava responded after recovering from her daze.

“Well, Captain, it seems that we have yet another visitor to our land here in Flint Haven. Ever since people heard that one of the Avalos family members took leadership of the Falcons, we have become more and more sought after over the past decade. It excites me, yet I have only wondered why our number of allies increased exponentially with our enemies. It seems…” Ava calmly interjected, “My Dad always told me that this world is filled with many things, and it was up to me to uncover as much as I desired.” A smile graced Ava’s lips before she continued, “And of those things that exist, I have usually run across individuals that have yet to understand the nature of greed. We have known each other for about nine years and I have yet to show any of this.”

Ava projects a screen amidst the air and selected the gift that she received for her 5th birthday. The gift materialized before them floating in front of Ava.

“Whoa!!! Is that?”, Koka uttered from amazement. “Yes, it is! Now, can I show you a few memories?” Ava giggled from Koka’s excited expression as the words left her mouth. “Yes, please.”

Ava activated the device and it began playing moments from her 5th birthday.

Little Ava was in Bastion’s arms in her room as he looked at her and said, “Alright Sweetie, let’s get you all ready for your birthday so you can get your special gift. Ava responded joyfully, “Yes, Daddy!”

Ava apologetically stated, “I didn’t mean to show that part.” Koka, with eyes full of tears, uttered, “No, Ava, I mean Captain, thank you for that moment. I needed that.” Ava embarrassingly fast forwarded to the moment before her present was given and presses play.

Ava, Bastion and Maria are in the kitchen with slices of chocolate frosted strawberry cake and tall glasses of milk in front of them. Maria has the special item on standby and motions to say something.

“Ava, your Dad and I are extremely proud of your progress and would be honored to give you this.” Maria pulls out a present covered in golden wrapping paper and handed it to her daughter. Ava’s eyes lit up as she opened her gift.

Ava’s puzzled look was priceless as she stared at an object that she had never seen before in her five years of living. “Mommy, Daddy, what is this black triangle?”, Ava inquired.

Maria responded, “It is what we now call Rongi, they are paper books, however, this one is quite different. It has been made especially for you. We know how you like virtual games, so, we infused a bit of technology into this special number. Your Dad made it for you. You can say that it is…magical!” Ava examined the right triangle shaped object. The spine, front and back covers were all blank, and to her touch she felt smooth yet tough leather.

Ava muttered, “Rongi, eh? I don’t know much about it yet, but I absolutely love the feel of it.” Her parents both took a sigh of relief before Bastion began to speak, “It is indeed what most will call magic, however, I like to call it understanding, and with that knowledge, and your Rongi, you can make anything appear in this material world. You can use your thoughts or written words to bring things here. You can already read and write, so we’ll train you with those as your mind strengthens.” Bastion then made his Rongi appear and took 30 seconds to focus and materialize the gift that Ava really wanted, a brand-new survival game from New Arc Studios. Ava’s eyes lit up and almost leaped and snatched the copy of ISR: New America out of his hand. “Now, before I give this to you just remember these words during your training, mind moves matter.” Ava nodded excitedly as Bastion sternly finished, “Repeat them.” Ava got serious and said in her cutest yet most academic voice, “Ok, Daddy. Mind moves matter.”

Bastion handed the virtual reality game to Ava and she vanished without saying another word.

Ava stopped the recording and awaited the one million questions that was forming inside of Koka’s mind! “So you tell me…that is a…” Koka stammered to get her questions out so Ava stepped in and asked, “So, earlier you mentioned that we had a new visitor come into town. Do you have any information on him or her?” Kona snapped back from her daze and began with a full report. “Captain, he is from the Solis Society and works under an elite faction called Crim/SIN. His name is Leonard Fiels and he is looking for something or someone in particular. He seems unsure about it exactly so it seems that his leader gave him a blind order.”

Ava replied, “Very interesting. Anything else, Koka?” “No, Captain.”, as she took her leave from Ava underground chambers.

*******

Topside. Flint Haven. 4:59 pm. Leonard seem to finally find something after five days of searching in the nearly run down town. He immediately sent Xiang, the Leader of Crim/SIN, what he discovered and retired to one of the only inhibited buildings in the whole city. It was a beautifully designed pub and restaurant called The Hidden Gem. In his short stay in Flint Haven, Leonard became a known face, whether because of his investigations during the day or his wild nature surfacing at night, people knew him. He loved the place because it reminded him of home back in Kokonur. The company was always nice and the drinks tantalized every morsel of his palette. He finally completed his mission and could relax, and once 5 pm hit, the music began to play and the drinks began to drop. Right before taking his first sip of the evening, Leonard whispered to himself, “Night, night, beautiful world.” Then threw back his first shot of Fireball Whiskey.

*******

Underground Base. Flint Haven. 5:21 pm. While Ava was mindlessly playing her game in her near pitched black office, she couldn’t help but to drift into a daydream about her Dad. As she went deeper, she began to hear her Dad’s voice, “Ava, you are sixteen now, I invited you to my study tonight because the Warrant Administration has called for our family to move from our compound for a few years so they can ensure that our loyalty stays with them. Your mother and I have already agreed to do so for the safety and longevity of our family’s name, yet, I will not make you come with us if you can show me the most fundamental aspects of using your Rongi.” Ava angrily responded, “But Dad! This isn’t fair! The Avalos family has served the administration since the separation.” “I know, Ava, once they discovered our secret with using Rongi and our ability of Will, they wanted to control how we use it. Lately, they have been demanding more and more, which is the Sin of every great nation. So please, Ava, show me and tell me the fundamental of using Rongi.”

Ava stepped back and looked her Dad in the eyes as she materialized her Rongi, and said, “Mind moves matter!” Then she made a red and blue backpack appear and told her dad to open it. As he reached inside the bag, he found her toothbrush, toothpaste, a change of clothes, a few snacks and 50,000 SINs; a currency used in Kokonur and exchanged throughout most regions in the country. Bastion nearly cried as he knew this may be the last moments that he would share with his little angel for many years. He pulled her close, hugged her tightly and whispered, “The world will come after you if you reveal your Avalos name, so continue to practice and sharpen your skills. I love you, Ava.” Tears welled up in both of their eyes as the moments passed.

Ava slowly came back to reality and a game screen replaying, You Win! She pulled out her Rongi, now fully decorated with golden symbols for manifesting, golden trim and still smooth to her touch. She opened it and the lights flickered, Xiang then appeared amidst the pages, “Good Evening, Soran Avalos, or should I just call you Ava?” Ava’s face shown that of complete surprise. “Before you speak Ava, allow me to introduce myself, I am Xiang Jianfang the Leader of Crim/SIN. I come in peace but need your assistance with a project, so time is of the essence. The longer you wait the longer you’ll be without electricity. Enjoy your night in the dark.” The lights to the underground base went out and Ava immediately pulled out her Rongi and sat quietly for a few moments and in a flash, electricity was restored to the base.

Ava could only think this to be a declaration of war so she opened her Rongi and wrote until she feel asleep, the last words scribbled down were Daddy’s, Mind moves matter.