Illumination of Generations

As the school day drew to a close for the students at Princeton, many of the halls in the academic complexes were abuzz with excitement from said students, mostly due to the fact that it was Thursday, more affectionately known to the college age students as ‘Thirsty Thursday’. For all intents and purposes, the school week was at an end, which meant that the campus was about to undergo its usual transformation, from a place of higher learning, to little more than a glorified open air club for said students to enjoy themselves. However, this was not an absolute statement, as the university library was still occupied by quite a few students for their own individual purposes, some to study, and some to finish up lingering assignments from the week.

Surprisingly so, one of these students was Riley, and even more surprising, was the fact that he actually had his nose in a thick looking book. During these last few days under the substitute instruction of Justinian, Riley had noticed a new feeling of appreciation for academics within himself. The way Justinian had been teaching the class was less of a traditional instruction method, preferring like his fellow Exemplar to teach via class discussions and engaging debates. Also, Justinian was an instructor that made sure everyone in the classroom took part, and found a way to accomplish this to make it enjoyable for all parties involved.

With that being said, Riley was doing research on a new topic that Justinian had introduced to the class earlier that day, the topic being ‘The Question of Equality throughout the Ages of Civilization’. Riley, despite his persona, was by no means a moron, and knew that Justinian has his own ulterior motives to forming that topic, but Riley found himself personally astounded by the lengthy, compelling discussion that followed. People generally knew a fair amount about the issue of equality when it came to racial terms, due to the amount of documentation on the American slave trade, but it went so much deeper than that through the ages, and it had Riley wondering what it meant in regards to the Sovrumano race. One of the reasons that the Illuminati even had to exist in this time was because of Ut Puri’s creed when it came to Sovrumano, but what about the general public? How would they react if and when the Sovrumano race revealed itself to the world?

The potential answers had disturbed Riley; he, like all other Sovrumano, knew that they already had to look over their shoulder when it came to Ut Puri racism, but to have to do the same for the general populace was appalling in his mind. With that on his mind, he had decided to hit the books to try and find any evidence of regular humans co-existing with the Sovrumano on a large scale. It had been a full hour since Justinian had dismissed class, and a good 45 minutes since he had first sat down in the library, and judging by the irritated scowl that seemed to be permanently frozen on his face, he had not found anything pertaining to what he was looking for.

“Yo!” Jeet yelled out loud as he poked his head in the main doors of the lobby, easily spotting Riley despite the book that was in front of his face. “There you are! Been looking all over for you man.” Jeet had the good nature to look apologetic as he was swiftly shushed by the resident librarian that was at the main check out desk near the entrance, quickly being replaced by a mildly surprised look as it finally clicked in his mind as to where he had actually found the jock. Jeet waved his hand, signaling the other Sovrumano teens that shared class with Riley and himself to follow him inside before walking over to him. “What are you doing Ry? Really didn’t expect to find you in here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Riley asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone before slamming the book shut. “Contrary to popular belief I’m actually not that dumb, and I enjoy a good book sometimes.”

Jordan wasn’t buying that for a second, picking up the book Riley was reading with a critical eye at its title. “‘An Examination on Freedom, by Raven Edge’,” he read out loud before flipping through the book’s pages. “A 350 plus page book, and it’s a nonfiction by our actual professor?” Jordan, as well as the other three teens flashed disbelieving glances at Riley before Jordan himself let out a humored chuckle. “As if. Seriously Riley, what are you doing in here?”

Riley let out a sigh before giving each teen a brief, hard stare. “You really want to know, don’t you?”

“Well yeah,” Selena said as she wrapped her arms around Riley’s neck and torso from behind. “You just disappeared after class without a word to anybody. Didn’t we all say we would at least stick together?”

“We did,” Riley answered with a chuckle as he leaned his head farther back into Selena’s chest. This was true, as after Justinian had appeared to sub for Raven, the five Sovrumano teens had made a pact of sorts to watch each other’s backs, with the premise that despite their personal differences, they were all family in a sense. It was even easier for Riley himself to go along with this, as he and Selena in the past few days had been all but blatant in their shared mutual attraction to each other, and it gave them the excuse they needed to be closer to each other. “It’s just that class earlier got me really thinking about the state of us, all of us in this world. I mean really, we exist today with regular humans in a very fragile harmony. What happens to us if that was ever broken?”

“Wow Riley,” Ashley said with equal parts understanding, admiration and surprise. “That’s actually something I’ve never thought of.” She made herself comfortable by sitting on top of the desk Riley was seated at as she gazed out the glass windows in the front of the library. “The way I was brought up, I was taught that if I watched how I used my abilities and where, and as long as I was careful, I would never have to worry about being found out by anyone.”

At that Riley let out a condescending balk. “Well that’s crap,” Riley said, sounding amused but actually deadly serious. “If that were the case, then we would never have to worry about living every day of our lives with at least a small sense of fear.” Riley’s tone was rough, but his point hit home in the others’ hearts. “Look at just the five of us: who out of us have lost at least one family member to Ut Puri?” After a tense moment, all of the teens, Riley included, truthfully raised a hand. “Now out of that, did that family member particularly draw any kind of interest to themselves, because I know my uncle didn’t.” Riley’s tone darkened considerably as his eyes took on a faint purple glow. “They butchered my uncle like a cow sent to the slaughterhouse, and for no reason other than the fact that he was Daeva Supremo.”  

The other two guys stiffened at Riley’s personal revelation, whilst Ashley had to look away from the others to wipe a few tears from her eyes. Selena only hugged Riley tighter, herself being to relate to that kind of pain due to her and Santana’s own parents being slain by Ut Puri operatives in front of their five year old eyes. “I think someone actually got my true purpose today in class,” the voice of Justinian said, causing the five teens to turn in surprise to find Justinian himself lazily reading a book a short distance behind them, leaning up against one of the bookshelves. “I’m not going to lie: I didn’t think it would be you that would get it first. Imagine my surprise when I followed you out of class and saw you wind up here. For all the effort you put into looking like a badass, you actually have a mind in there eh Riley?”

‘Even he thought I was a dumbass?’ Riley thought with a downcast nod of his head.

“Let me tell you guys something though,” Justinian said with a hidden grin at Riley’s downcast expression. “Something I didn’t say in class for obvious reasons.” He paused for a moment as he felt a ping of pride at the quickness in which the five teens gave him their undivided attention. “This history of inequality; it started because of hatred. It started because of jealousy and self-righteousness, born from the darkness in the human psyche.” Justinian walked over to the desk and took a seat, taking a quick glance to make sure there were no eavesdroppers in the library, which in all actuality was a longshot due to the day it was. “Ut Puri has cultivated these darker ideas of racial supremacy throughout the ages, giving all of us, human and Sovrumano alike, an idea that we are better than others we can compare ourselves to, whether that reason comes from a different race, creed, sex, religion, or whatever. We won’t learn true equality as one people until we learn to accept and tolerate those differences, and learn that despite the differences we are all in this together.”

“And when is that going to happen?” Jeet asked. “Isn’t the Illuminati’s primary goal just that? The pursuit of true equality for everyone, human or Sovrumano, regardless of race or creed?”

Justinian nodded slowly as he held a faraway look in his eyes. “That has been our goal ever since we began, but the idea of true equality and peace can and has been misconstrued and twisted so many times there is almost a fear of it. Look at the reputation of the Illuminati today: as Sovrumano we know what we stand for. Our supporters know what we stand for, and even some nations know of and support our cause, even if it isn’t broadcasted for the general public to know. However, look also at the stigma behind us Illuminati in the view of pop culture: we work for peace and equality, yet pop culture says we want a New World Order.”

“But,” Jordan said, quickly interrupting Justinian with a point of his finger. “That’s Ut Puri’s motive, not the Illuminati’s”

“Are either so different?” Justinian asked suddenly, taking the proverbial wind out of all the teens’ sails. “If you look at the definitions of true peace and equality versus a New World Order, the two are actually very similar. The difference in the two is simply in the way they are achieved rather than what exactly is being achieved.”

“But Ut Puri wants to kill us Sovrumano, don’t forget that Exemplar,” Ashley said.

“Also true,” Justinian said with a nod. “I have fought against some of Ut Puri’s fiercest warriors in the long time I have walked on this earth, and each one came at me with that sole intent. Even knowing that, I forgive them in my heart even when I fight them, even as we Illuminati oppose them. You know why?” The teens didn’t say a word, finding the concept of Justinian forgiving his enemies foreign. “Because,” he said with a small smile, “You can’t blame the person. What you can blame is the philosophy in which they live by. I personally work and fight to change Ut Puri’s philosophy of hatred, one day at a time. Once that is amended, only then can we work towards true peace and equality together. It has been five thousand plus years since this has all began; generations have come and gone trying to do just that. Maybe this generation has a chance at finally stopping the hatred, and if not, the least we can do as human beings, Sovrumano or not, is to pave the way for future generations to have that same shot.”

Justinian took a look at the faces of the teens, finding that his words had struck something deep in their souls. With a final grin, he wordlessly got up and left them to their own devices, knowing that nothing more needed to be said. ‘This is the future,’ he thought, watching from the entrance as the five teens suddenly broke out into a hushed conversation between them, with Riley re-opening the book he was reading before. ‘And this generation, it has a spark of destiny I’ve never seen before. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll live to see the day we find true peace.’

_______________________________________________

On the other side of the world, Raven himself was contemplating the level of common sense in his own generation, currently disfiguring a booth in the Paralia Kafeneio with the irritated tapping of his fingers, searching his mind inside and out for an excuse to justify why he and Jasper’s wives thought it was a good idea to bring themselves and the kids over to Rhodes, knowing exactly why he and Jasper were there in the first place. “Honey,” he said for what felt like the millionth time, “Just the fact that you all are here right now has a chance of compromising our mission. Do you realize exactly what’s on the line right now?”

“Does it look like I care Raven?” Sharon asked, her attitude and tone already telling Raven that she refused to be moved from her decision to come to Rhodes. “I’m tired of having to plan free time for us, so if that means coming here to get that, then my all mean I will.”

“But babe!” Raven said a little too loudly for his own liking, but not really caring due to the situation. “This isn’t like a simple diplomatic meeting or anything; there’s a good chance Jazz and I are actually going to get our hands dirty before this is all said and done. Ut Puri’s looking for total domination here, and will stop at nothing to get it. You think we want our families in the crossfire of that?”

Sharon rolled her eyes as she glanced at a table on the other side of the open air restaurant, where Jasper was having a similar conversation with LaShonda, and looking to be having as little success as Raven was having with changing her mind. “You two are arguably the two strongest Draco alive,” she said with absolute seriousness. “What is it going to take for you two to handle these guys here? One, maybe two roars of strength, and the fights’ over. If you’re that worried, give us a gun. Ut Puri or not, a woman with a gun is a dangerous combination.”

‘What is it with women and always wanting to be right?’ Raven thought, desperately wanting to bash his head against a wall in frustration. “It’s not that simple Sharon,” he said. “Jazz nor I are going to be able to operate at our fullest if we have to worry about you guys’ safety 24/7. You all right now are more of a liability right now.”

“I’m a liability?” Sharon asked, standing up with obvious anger on her face, having misunderstood Raven’s real meaning behind the statement. That anger manifested a few seconds with an audible slap to the side of his face. “Liability my a*s,” Sharon said with a glare towards Raven, who physically was unscathed from the slap, yet wore an expression that showed the emotional damage it had caused. “We are staying, regardless of what you or Jazz might think, and despite you and Jazz’s mission you’re going to make time for us as a family.”

“Draven,” Raven said slowly, his expression suddenly changing to that of the Exemplar in him, leveling his wife with a glare that he usually reserved for his enemies. With that one word, Sharon felt her entire argument shatter like mirrors, the dust and shards of said mirror being blown into the wind, yet Raven’s expression didn’t falter in the slightest. “Julian Draven is on this isle somewhere Sharon, and he’s out for blood!”

Raven wasn’t usually one to lose his cool, but right now was an exception to that rule. In her want for family time, admirable though it was, her selfishness had truly thrown a wrench into his mission, and that was something he just could not allow, wife be damned. Raven suddenly stood up to his full height, truly looking like the imposing warrior that Ut Puri feared as Ryu Senko as he gave Sharon a glare that was felt by all the inhabitants of the restaurant. The only thing that Raven was thankful for at this point was Jericho taking the boys’ attention as soon as they got to the restaurant, taking them on the yacht to avoid them seeing the fireworks of two separate arguments.

“Make no mistake Sharon,” Raven said in a menacing tone that had Sharon attempt to sink into her chair from the way Raven was talking to her. “My family means more to me than anything; the fact that you question that is appalling to me.”

“But I!” she started, but was swiftly cut off by Raven, who in his anger slammed his fist into the table, breaking the sturdy object in two as if it were a simple twig.

“Don’t even,” Raven said with a glare, without regards to his actions. “Just the fact that you came here, knowing the danger of this all shows me where your mind and heart is right now!” Through all of this, LaShonda and Jasper’s argument had come to a halt, with Jasper being the first to pick up on the unconscious release of ki by Raven, though it was becoming more and more obvious by the increasing intensity of the glow in his eyes. “Did you even stop to think that Ut Puri might know who my family is? Who Jazz’s family is? What’s to say that they won’t use you all to get to us?”

“Yo Rave,” Jazz said with an air of seriousness that was quickly picked up on by the occupants in the room, leaving his seat to stand in between Sharon and Raven. “Stop yelling at her; you’re drawing a lot of attention bro.” Jasper motioned to his own eyes with a point, easily getting his own subtle point across to Raven. “It was a dumb move; I know, and now they know. What happened is in the past, but check yourself before I do it for you.” A few tense seconds passed, with the two Edge brothers having a stare down of sorts before Raven finally took a deep breath. “You alright now?”

Raven nodded before turning his back to everyone, making a beeline for the exit. “Roll up Jazz; I need to calm down right now before we do anything else.”

“True that Rave,” Jasper said with a nod. After Raven walked out of the restaurant, he took a quick glance at the rest of the patrons in the restaurant, noticing that very few, if any, were taken aback or disturbed by the not so subtle display of power and anger from his brother. “Everyone alright?” he asked.

One of the shopkeepers, an older man looking to be in his early sixties with unnaturally bright brown eyes, just let out an amused chuckle. “Don’t worry about it Nyce,” he said, visibly surprising Jasper by the usage of his moniker. “This is primarily a Sovrumano isle of retreat; most of us are used to the supernatural playing out in front of our eyes.”

“And that?” Jasper questioned, not so subtly making a reference to Raven’s previous attitude.

“An Exemplar speaking a piece of their mind to someone who should have known better,” the man answered with a pointed look at LaShonda and Sharon. “This isle isn’t going through its best times right now, especially with Draven the Manslayer on the loose.” The man sighed as he absent-mindedly picked up an empty glass to wipe out. “Maybe your presences will do well for Rhodes; hell, it might scare Draven away!” The man let out an amused, if empty, laugh. Scaring away Julian from anywhere was on the level of impossible, even for someone with the power and influence of Raven.

Jasper, however, gave the man a critical look, a little suspicious of his knowledge. “Who are you anyway?” Jasper asked, his tone being enough to let the man know he was on to him. “I know my brother and I aren’t exactly the most inconspicuous, but you seem to know a lot more than what you’re letting on.”

The man turned away from Jasper with a hardly seen smirk. “That would be telling,” the man answered as he walked through the curtains separating the common area for customers from the back. “Sometimes the answers you want are hidden in plain sight.” The man suddenly peeked his head out from the curtain, finding the confused look on Jasper’s face kind of humorous. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“I’m sure we will,” Jasper answered, continuing to eye the curtain as the elderly man disappeared into the back once again. “C’mon Babe, Sharon,” he said, waving his wife over to him and Sharon. “Let’s go somewhere where we can actually figure this all out.” As he and the women departed the restaurant, Jasper couldn’t shake the feeling that the older man was much more than he had seemed. Sovrumano; it was already a fore gone conclusion that the man was a member of the super-human race. The real question on Jasper’s mind, though, was if he was on the side of the Illuminati, or the side of Ut Puri? ‘Looks like I’m going to have to do a little searching of my own,’ Jasper thought. ‘There’s already been one wrench thrown into the plan; another will be pushing the envelope a bit too much.’

Nestor wanted to laugh, so hard at that point as he threw the dirty towel he was using over his shoulder. ‘So that’s who they decided to send?’ Nestor thought, closing his eyes as he leaned against an empty wall, with the stories that surrounded the brothers Edge playing through his mind. ‘They’re not pulling any punches, this new generation of Illuminati.’ Yeah, the influence that Raven and Jasper had amassed was on the level of an almost global fame in the world of Sovrumano, and those stories hadn’t missed the isle of Rhodes. The brothers Edge were two Draco that caused ripples wherever they went, as legendary to other Sovrumano as they were lethal to Ut Puri. Julian Draven himself would be hard pressed to contend with either brother in a one on one fight, so for now, Nestor could breathe a sigh of relief. The Illuminati seemed to have everything under control; maybe now he could truly rest easy and enjoy the rest of his life.

_______________________________________________

Well, if Raven was right about one thing, it was that his family's presence would do a hell of a lot to make he and Jasper's mission that much more complicated. When you're public enemy number one in the book of Ut Puri, it applied to not just you, but your family as well. Sure enough, as Jasper and the women made their way to Jericho's yacht, they were spotted by probably the one man that they didn't need to know they were there. 

'You have got to be kidding me,' Julian thought with an irritated growl, looking through a pair of binoculars as he stood alone on top of one of the many flat topped roofs that comprised the homes and neighborhoods in Rhodes. He had been doing his own personal surveillance of the busy port city, following several rumors of the powerful Nestor actually working in the town, when he had spotted one of Ut Puri's highest prized targets in Jasper. As he followed Jasper's path, his blood ran cold, much colder than it had ever done so in his life, as he settled upon the visage of Raven Edge. 

Julian swore as he chucked the binoculars away, having a miniature conniption fit as he tried to deal with the mixed feelings of rage and fear in his mind. Jasper; he was one problem, but Raven and Jasper together was something that even he didn't think he could deal with. No Justicar in their right mind would try to face off with those brothers, and there was a fair amount of records and history to back up that belief. Julian could feel his chances of completing his mission slipping away even as he raged, for as sadistic and nihilistic as he was, even he wasn't that stupid.

That was until a bright idea quite literally smacked him in the face.

 In his raging, Julian had absent-mindedly turned into a seagull's flight path, having a meeting of the minds so to speak with said bird. The bird itself was at the moment dazed, but even the animal must have sensed the amount of hatred in Julian's heart as it desperately tried to recover and fly away. Sadly for said bird, it was snatched out of the air by a shadowy tendril of Julian's, soon to become the Daeva's next victim.

"Stupid bird," Julian said as he directed his shadow tendril to deliver the bird to his outstretched palm to deal with it in his own way, paying no heed to the bird's terrified squawking. As Julian wrapped his hand around the bird's neck to end its life, however, a few of the bird's feather's fell off, drifting weightlessly to the ground. For one reason or the other, Julian found himself mesmerized as he stared at the fallen feathers, before suddenly snapping out of his daze. With a quick squeeze of his hand, Julian snapped the bird's neck even as a malicious smile spread across his face. 'Maybe all is not lost,' Julian though, his smile only getting wider as he withdrew his cell phone from his pocket.

It looked like it was time to call for reinforcements.