First, they sent you a letter. Then, they visited you and convinced your family.

But you knew better.

Finally, they came for you. They loaded you on a bus without telling you where you were going, 'for your safety'.

Was that the real reason? Of course not.

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A small girl emerges from the bus. From your position, you see the back of her head. Her hair is long, brown, and abnormally curly. You know she doesn't curl it. The girls that come here aren't like that. There's something strange about this one though. She has an unusual aura, one you've seen on interesting people before. The people who go far.

Maybe you've just met the next prodigy. There's always one in this school, because here, only the elite are welcomed. There are various other schools dedicated to the same purpose around the world, but this one has established a reputation as the best. Everyone coming off that bus will one day be worth five, maybe six hundred regular soldiers.

That is what this Academy specializes in. L.T., they call it. Leadership Training. No one speaks of it much though, because once you get in, everything else stops mattering. Your goals, ambitions, past lovers, anyone and everyone forgets them. Just like you have. But you are old. Older than most kids here, anyway. In your tenth year, you've never stood out much, but have always been an average student. No one even knows your name.

But, you know that girl will be different. Everyone is going to know her name.

As you leap down from your perch in a tree, thirty feet up, you hear the bell ring, and know that if you don't hurry, your going to be late for your first period. Combat Training.

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Junshan Stepped off the bus, her brown curly hair flowing around her head. She hadn't wanted to come to this school. This 'academy', she mentally corrected herself, just as the agent who had come to her house had. She didn't see why she was being forced to go here. Her parents had said it was going to be good for her future.

Like they would know. They were hell-bent on getting her into the military. Did they want her to die?

Junshan was a natural born American citizen, and had never openly acknowledged her Asian half. It had never occurred to her, but now that she was almost certain she was somewhere in Asia, the idea seemed inviting. To reach her current spot, she had been forced to board two planes and one boat. Why the plane couldn't have taken her over the water as well was beyond Junshan.

Leaving her current school was never the problem for Junshan. The problem was that Junshan's parents wanted her to go here, and so, naturally, she didn't. But there was something unusual about the large black gate before her. She walked towards it, placing her hand on the nearest bar when she came close. There were only three other students on the bus with her, and they were looking at her like she was crazy.

She wondered if they were forced here, just as she was. They all looked slightly nervous, but their faces showed none of the anger that Junshan felt. One of them, who stood near the bus, jumped slightly when it pulled away. He looked about her age, maybe younger.

Junshan had already started walking over towards the boy, curious about him, when the gate behind her opened and a man emerged. He had light brown hair, light enough to be blonde, and large blue eyes. Other than this anomaly, his features seemed to be Asian, further confirming Junshan's theory.

"Welcome!" He said in a voice like silk. It was a voice designed to subdue, to reassure. Something you would hear from a lion tamer. "Our academy is pleased you could come. This way please!" He motioned toward the gate and it's inner courtyard.

The courtyard was slightly gray, and made mostly of crumbly brick. The building behind was made only of two stories, but gave off the feeling that it was taller somehow. There was a small patch of grass in the middle of the courtyard, and a tree placed in the center.

It was such an unusual tree. The bark was deathly black, but the flowers were blinding. The leaves had all taken on a bright yellow, even though it was still summer, and the flowers only appeared at the end of a branch. They were multicolored, some red, others white, and even some green. They must be dyed, Junshan concluded.

Junshan stared at the tree for what seemed like a moment too long, for the man had taken notice. He quickly took her hand and began to lead her into the gate. What was this?

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Once inside, Junshan hadn't seen any signs of inhabitance. Either that or the people who lived here had been avoiding their group, which followed Jushan and the abrupt man.

He led them to what seemed to be their quarters without a word, and had left shortly after, enclosing them each in their own room. Junshan's room was large and spacious, with a black bed near the window. When she neared the far side of the room she could make out trees through her window. That was it. It was a barrier, she could tell. Did they not want her to know what was really going on out there?

She sat down on her bed, waiting for further instructions.

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Some time later, Junshan started to worry. Did they intended to leave her here all day? What was this place really? She had sat on the bed for what had seemed like hours, waiting for some sign of life. Faintly, she began hearing noises coming from the hallway.

The noises had slowly grown into what could now be called conversation. Junshan kept hearing the word 'test' repeated over and over. Was this actually a school?

Later, when the sounds had ceased, a knock was heard on her door. When she made no response, the door opened, revealing a person in what seemed to be medieval Armour. The gender of the person was a mystery, because a large helmet covered their head. It was shiny and had a metallic glow about it, even though it was black. The rest of the armor shone the same way, appearing as metal at first glance, and then reverting to black after a moment.

After getting over the shock of the armor, Junshan saw that it wasn't quite the same as what she had seen in her history class. There were some slight differences, and some major ones. The plate was not one large piece of metal, but ten or twenty broken up to allow movement of the arms and waist. The leggings were loose fitted, and were tucked into the strange boots.

On the boots, Junshan could make out what looked strangely like the Omega sign(Ω), and couldn't tell what material they were made out of. They seemed to be made of silk, but that couldn't be possible. Could it?

The being motioned forward with their hand. Junshan couldn't make out any skin, because their gloves appeared to be silk as well. Deciding that it must be a guard, she got off up the black bed and started walking forward.

Leaving the room behind, she followed the guard through many twisted corridors and brick passageways. Was it a precaution, to make sure she couldn't find her way back, or was in unintentional?

Finally, they reached a large doorway, and the guard motioned, once again, for her to proceed forward. Junshan assumed that her guard would not enter the room with her, and so she reached out to open the door.

She was greeted with silence.