Six was training Marina — Seven — in the training room, where the rest of the Garde and their Cepans had gathered.
Freya, Maggie, Hannu, Four, Nine, and their mentors — Hilde, Conrad, Dante, Henri, Adelina, Katrina, and Sandor — stood around, watching intently and occasionally calling out advice to their respective Garde. Alongside them, Sarah, Sam, and Malcolm were practicing with blasters, learning to handle the alien weapons with steady hands and determined faces.
Across the room, Griffin was sparring fiercely with Nine, their duel a blur of strength and speed.
In the center of the room, Marina was thrown back with a heavy thud, landing hard against the training mats. She groaned, struggling to catch her breath.
Six stepped forward, her hands on her hips.
"You're getting better," she said with a teasing smirk.
Marina groaned louder, muttering, "Still getting my ass kicked?"
Adelina approached, offering Marina a hand up. Her expression was kind but firm as she helped her protégé to her feet.
"She has better experience than you," Adelina said, glancing meaningfully at Six.
Marina dusted herself off, nodding as she scanned the room.
"Where's Alexander?" she asked, curiosity flickering across her features.
Griffin, panting slightly from his spar with Nine, called over, "Yeah, I haven't seen him since morning."
Six sighed, a small crease forming on her brow.
"He said he remembered something — something passed down through his family. He thinks it's Lorien in origin."
That sparked everyone's attention. The room seemed to hold its breath, the clatter of training momentarily fading.
Then, with a soft hiss, the training room door slid open.
Alexander stepped inside, his presence immediately drawing every eye.
His expression was serious, intense. He moved straight toward the center of the room, where Six met him halfway.
"What is it?" Six asked, her voice low and urgent.
The others crowded closer, a ripple of curiosity passing through them.
Alexander said nothing at first. Instead, he extended his hand, revealing what he carried:
In his palm rested a small, ancient artifact, no bigger than a thick pendant or compact stone. It looked as though it had been forged from dark, weathered volcanic rock, its surface rough and jagged, worn by untold centuries.
Etched across its surface were intricate runes and glyphs, each one softly glowing with a blue-white light, pulsing gently as if breathing in rhythm with the artifact itself.
At its center was a raised circular core, radiating a brighter, steady blue glow. The core seemed almost alive, its energy humming faintly in the air between them.
The ancient object looked powerful — and undeniably Loric.
The Cepans reacted instantly, their faces shifting from curiosity to recognition.
Henri stepped forward, eyes wide with a mixture of shock and reverence.
"That's a Lorien Elder's Token," Henri said, his voice heavy with awe. "How did you get it?"
Alexander glanced around at the expectant faces before answering. His voice was calm but tinged with a deep undercurrent of significance.
"It was passed through my family for generations," he said. "An heirloom... something we never truly understood. It belonged to an ancestor of mine — someone who, it seems, had deeper ties to Lorien than we ever knew."
He glanced down at the glowing artifact in his palm, the light reflecting in his eyes.
"I remembered it recently — tucked away in our family vault. For as long as I can remember, it was just... an ordinary stone. Cold. Lifeless."
He looked back up, the weight of his words hanging in the air.
"But after my abilities awakened... I had a feeling. Doubts that maybe it was more than it seemed. So I went back for it."
He held up the token, the blue light shining steadily, bathing his face in a soft glow.
"And now... it's glowing."
The room fell into a deep, taut silence. Even the low hum of training equipment seemed to fade away.
The Garde exchanged glances. The Cepans looked grim, as if grasping the enormity of what had just been revealed.
Whatever that token represented — it was no ordinary relic.
It was a link to Lorien itself.
Conrad stepped forward, his voice firm with realization.
"That means our guess was right. Alexander... you're related to one of the Lorien Elders."
The Cepans nodded solemnly, while the Garde — along with Griffin, Sam, Sarah, and Malcolm — leaned in, their curiosity burning even brighter.
Hilde stepped closer, her gaze sharp yet respectful.
"May I see it?" she asked. "I might be able to tell which generation it comes from."
Alexander nodded and carefully handed the artifact to her.
Meanwhile, Sarah leaned toward Freya, whispering, "Is the title of Elder really that important?"
Jim, Luke and Isabella was also present.
Freya smiled slightly, lowering her voice.
"The Elders of Lorien are the most powerful of our kind. They carried every known Legacy within them — they were like living forces of nature."
Katrina, overhearing, added in a low murmur,
"The title is passed down once every tens of thousands of years... only to those whom Lorien itself deems strong of heart, pure of spirit."
Sarah, Sam, Malcolm, and Griffin exchanged wide-eyed glances, the magnitude of the situation finally settling on them.
At the center of the room, Hilde ran her fingers reverently across the rune-carved surface of the token. The runes pulsed faintly under her touch, responding to her connection with Lorien's heritage. Her eyes widened, her breath caught. She looked up at Alexander — awe flashing across her usually composed face.
The room grew still. Even the hum of distant equipment seemed to fade.
Crayton, his instincts sharp, stepped forward.
"What is it?" he asked, a low urgency in his voice.
He already knew Ella was a direct descendant of an Elder. But something about this felt... different. Bigger.
Hilde's voice came soft but clear, heavy with emotion.
"This token... it's from the First Generation Elders."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
The Cepans and Garde alike stared at Alexander, shock rippling through the room like a wave.
Katrina leaned closer to Sarah and the others, whispering hurriedly,
"Legend says the first ten Elders found the Phoenix Stones — ancient artifacts that unlocked the full potential of Lorien, awakened the Garde's powers, and brought forth the Chimæra. They led Lorien into its greatest golden age... a paradise of flourishing life and endless energy."
Katrina's eyes gleamed with barely hidden awe as she added,
"Alexander's ancestor... was one of those ten. A founder. A legend."
Hilde swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on Alexander like he had suddenly become something more than mortal.
"In fact," she whispered, almost reverently, "this token belonged to the first Pittacus Lore."
The room fell into stunned silence, broken only by the soft hum of the artifact's glowing runes.
Henri muttered, his voice laced with stunned admiration,"No wonder he's so powerful..."
Though history had long taught that the late Pittacus Lore — the one lost before the fall of Lorien — was the strongest, the true power belonged to the first Pittacus Lore:
The one who had mastered every Legacy known... even those lost to myth — dimension manipulation, time manipulation, and powers beyond comprehension.
Alexander stood still, the realization sinking into his bones.He had always suspected he was connected to an Elder.But never — never — had he imagined it would be him.