Exemplar

Two hours later

 

To the surprise of Raven and his students, the orientation had lasted much longer than they had anticipated, thoroughly getting into the activity with a gusto few realized they had. The only thing that had finally drawn a close to Raven’s orientation was the sound of a bell, signifying that it was 3:00, the end of the academic day. As the students filed out of the room, no doubt to explore the historic campus and grab a bite to eat, Raven took the chance to hold back a select group of five students, taking note of the one thing that they could not hide from him, try as they might. Jordan, Ashley, and surprisingly Riley was part of this group, not even attempting to leave the room due to their own suspicions regarding the unique professor. In addition to the group was Selena, who had stayed partly due to Raven’s request, but mostly due to the obvious attraction that she had for the freshman, as well as the Indian kid whose name was Jeet Andujar, a history major who had quite the inqunsitive mind, as well as a  .

Once the majority of students had left, Raven walked over to the door to close it, making it a point to check for any stragglers outside the classroom before doing so. Having long since noticed the small changes in the remaining students’ demeanor during the orientation, he knew that they had already figured out why he had held them back. Even still, he chose to tread the path of caution; this next ‘orientation’ had little to do with the university itself, rather, it had to do with a certain background he suspected was shared between the remaining occupants. If his suspicions were correct, and most of the time they were, then his caution was well placed.

Silence reigned in the room for a few moments as Raven carefully swept his eyes over the seated students, analyzing their posture and attitudes as he purposefully refrained from speaking. ‘Without the others in here it becomes much easier to discern,’ Raven thought with a hidden smile as he closed his eyes, subtly feeling out the unique auras of the five freshmen. ‘I have to admit, it isn’t often I see such control in the youth. If it hadn’t been for that Ashley girl being as inquisitive as she is, even I would have passed over these kids for a time. This next generation is surprising me more and more every day.’  Seeing that the teens were starting to fidget uncomfortably, Raven decided to ask the question that would break the ice. “So,” he started, noticing the slight flinch in the majority of the small group. “What does the term Sovrumano mean to any of you?”

Yeah, it was needlessly blatant, but Raven wasn’t surprised in the least when he saw matching grins form on the faces of the five teens. Raven pointed to Ashley, noticing that she was barely restraining the urge to speak up, giving her the floor to address them. “It is my identity,” Ashley said with a sly grin as she glanced at her fellow students, noticing the mirroring grins on their faces. “And I presume that goes for everyone in this room, am I correct, Ryu Senko?”

Raven held back any show of emotion from his face and posture; not surprised in the least at the girl’s sudden accusation towards him, yet also held a small amount of respectful pride for the girl correctly figuring him out. ‘For her, she’s just that observant,’ Raven thought, noticing that he had a fan in one of this students of his ‘free time’ work. ‘The rest of these brats, had to be the tattoo,’ Raven thought, discreetly taking a quick look at the iconic, tribal looking tattoo sleeve that helped to define his uniqueness. The tattoo was a birthright of sorts, given to the males in his family once they came of age. Although unique in its design, it was something that could have been overlooked in any other circumstance, however, the tattoo had become part of his expansive reputation.

Alongside being a department head at Princeton, and a freelance philanthropist and philosopher, Raven’s other, lesser known job title to the general public, but arguably his most important, was that of Exemplar; more specifically, he was the Exemplar representing the Draco race of the Sovrumano. That came with the reputation of being one of, if not the strongest individual of your specific Sovrumano race, and Raven had strength in spades. That was where he got the pen name of Ryu Senko from; his mastery of the Draco style of ki manipulation and combat gave him that nickname during his youth, a proven natural prodigy searching for his own way of enlightenment via the philosophies of the martial arts.  

“Maybe,” Raven said, noting the looks of disbelief on the faces of the teens, who thought that Raven was trying to refute an, in their eyes, obvious claim. “Maybe not. Who’s to say I am?”

“Un,” Riley said in a mocking tone. “How about that!” Riley yelled out suddenly, pointing to the tattoo on Raven's arm, answering the man’s earlier suspicions. “That tattoo is known to any Sovrumano worth anything. It’s damn near legendary to our community, because of you specifically! There hasn’t been an Exemplar from your race with the same level of strength you possess since the medieval times!”

“Really?” Raven mock-asked, already knowing the truth in Riley’s accusation. The Draco race was known for their near unrivaled strength, possessing the ability to wield the energy of the elements with the usage of their ki. They were the subject of many a myth from all corners of the world, dating back to the ancient times. They were respected for their strength, their honor, and their humbleness, yet feared due to being arguably the strongest of all the Sovrumano races. The Draco had also birthed some of the most powerful and iconic individuals in history, from the legendary sorcerer Merlin, to the Celtic warrior queen Boudicea, and in these times, Raven himself Although Raven was a man who believed in the adage of the pen being mightier than the sword, there were times in his twelve year reign as Exemplar that he had been forced to wield his near legendary power, and each time did more and more to make him a living legend in the world of Sovrumano and the underground.

“What reason do we have to believe different?” Jordan asked, just as sure as the rest of the teens of Raven’s identity.

“There’s no fooling you is there?” Raven asked with an upset sounding sigh, seeing that the teens refused to believe anything other than him being who he was. “Then yes, I will admit; I am the Draco Exemplar.” Before the teens had a chance to open their mouths to fire off questions to the professor/Exemplar, Raven silenced them with a wave of his hand. “But, the problem is this: you teens were so sure of my identity, you called me out on it the second I dropped a hint without taking into account the chance of me being an impostor, as well as the possibility of any of you being an enemy to our race. Now, let’s say I was an impostor. What would have happened?”

“Uh,” Riley said, scratching his head in confusion. “I’m not following. Who would dare impersonate you?”

“Who would dare impersonate any leader of importance?” Raven asked, effectively silencing the teens as his point was slowly dawning on the group. “It wouldn’t be the first time any leader of this world has been impersonated for someone’s own goals. This goes double for any Exemplar or Judge Magister; as Sovrumano, we have an obligation to protect the members of our race. Remember, the Illuminati created the Edict of Secrecy at the end of the Renaissance period due to the mass slayings our race had experienced at the hands of Ut Puri. It is this law that has kept our race from extinction since then. Don’t you think an impersonation of one of the Exemplars would be Ut Puri’s key to trying to finish the job?” The teens caught the message, averting their eyes in shame from the gaze of Raven. If Raven was indeed nothing more than an impersonation by an operative of Ut Puri, they knew that they would have probably been captured, or worse. In calling Raven out as an Exemplar, they had inadvertently revealed their own knowledge of the Sovrumano, which any Ut Puri operative would have taken as an admission of their status.

“Relax,” Raven said, cracking a grin to try and diffuse the somber mood of the teens. “Luckily for you, I am who you thought I am. I will commend you all, however; it wasn’t easy for me to notice with the way you all seem to be actively controlling your presence. You all are well trained in the ability to hide your unique energy signal, something that is seen mostly in the skill set of our own members. Now I have to ask; to which race does each of you belong to?”

“You can’t tell,” Jeet asked, sure that the Exemplar knew exactly what type of Sovrumano each of them were.

“I can,” Raven said, drawing looks of ire from the freshmen. “But I’d rather you tell me; you all seem you know your identity, so I want to see what you know of it. Think of this like another orientation, only this time it’s an introduction to one of your Exemplars rather than a mere professor.”

“Avis,” Ashley said, being the first to discern the hidden message in Raven’s words from being a fan of his work. “Widely regarded as the swiftest of the Sovrumano races, we have the ability to control gravity itself with our ki. Just like the birds in the sky, we are free, unchained from the roots of the ground.”

“Canis,” Jordan said, smiling to show his more pronounced canines. “The Sovrumano 'druids', with the ability to harness the life of nature itself to fight both as its ally and weapon.

“Daeva,” Riley said with a smirk, obviously proud of his distinction as a member of one of the Supremo, one of the four ‘high’ races of the Sovrumano. “We control the energy of the shadows with our ki, both for offensive and defensive purposes. Our limits are only measured by our ki capacity and our imagination.”   

“Anguis,” Jeet said. Raven raised an eyebrow at the kid’s reveal of his racial background, noting his paleness that was rare for both the Anguis and his Indian roots. “We can poison our enemies with our ki, untraceable by many of scientific means and unable to be stopped except by the counter venom of another Anguis, or by the healing abilities of the Angeli.” Raven gave Jeet a curt nod, knowing that Jeet was one of the most deadly in this group of teens despite his sickly look. With only a touch, an Anguis was capable of incapacitating most opponents, and would have a hard time being found guilty of the assault.

 “Felis,” Selena said before making a small show of leaning back into Riley’s chest. “The masters of stealth, with the abilities of controlled invisibility and the creation of doppelgangers with our ki.”

 “Excellent,” Raven said as his vision swept over the five freshmen. “Absolutely excellent. Since you know the basics, I hope I’m accurate in saying that you all have some training in your abilities.” The five teens instantly nodded, picking up on the slight warning tone in his voice. “Good,” Raven said, clapping his hands as he rose from his seat. “So I don’t have to worry about you all making my life harder than it already is for me.” Seeing the mild looks of confusion on their faces, Raven elaborated a bit so they could understand what he had meant. “You think I’m a professor here just because I want to be? I’m here because a close friend of mine just happens to be the dean, and he wanted a Sovrumano he could trust to oversee all the ‘super-human’ youths here studying. He doesn’t want problems, either by an unexpected Ut Puri attack or by the incompetence of an irresponsible brat who think they can flaunt their powers because they’re ‘cool’.”

Raven stared at each of the teens in the eyes so he could further press his point into their minds. “I won’t mince my words; some of you have a way to go to truly understand and respect the responsibilities you hold as a member of your respective races.” Raven made it a point to glance at Riley, who averted his gaze, knowing that Raven was referring to his attitude. “But from what I can see, you all have a degree of pride that I see in the faces of my subordinates every day. Just know this; as long as you all can keep this little conversation under wraps from prying eyes and ears, I will be satisfied. Maybe I can teach you all some tricks sometime; consider it an extracurricular course of study.”

“Really?” Riley asked, a sense of disbelief and surprise evident in his voice, just as it was on the faces of the other four teens. To learn anything Sovrumano related from one of the Exemplars was a rare opportunity, something that they would not pass up if Raven was truly genuine in his offer.

“Did I stutter?” Raven asked with an affirmative thumbs up in their direction. A few seconds later, Raven was caught off guard by the sound of his cell phone ringing, quickly retrieving it to answer. “Just a moment,” he said as he put the phone to his ear. The teens watched Raven as he listened to whoever was on the other line, noticing Raven’s facial expression change from one of complacency to one of utter shock. After a minute, Raven hung up the phone, now in a serious mood that was felt by the five Sovrumano teens.

“Is something the matter?” Jeet asked, noticing the slight look of worry in the expression of Raven.

“Nothing for you all to worry about,” Raven said in a voice that told the teens not to pry any further. “I have something I need to take care of; I’ll see you all tomorrow morning, 9:00 sharp.” Raven didn’t wait for an answer, hastily leaving the room to the surprise of the teens, and slamming the door in the process.

The teens stared at each other for a few seconds, confused to what had taken place before standing themselves to leave. “Wonder what that was all about?” Riley commented before following the rest of the group, wondering what could have caused Raven’s whole demeanor to change that quickly.

“You know what curiosity does right?” Selena asked as she leaned against Riley, looking into his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” Riley said with a chuckle as the two left with the other freshmen, laughing all the way.

It only they knew what was to come.