Hey again! Since the summer holidays are here for me now (yay!) I thought it must be time to get writing multi-chapter stories for Stork Hawks again! This story won't be as action filled as I usually like because it's how Aerrow became the Sky Knight we all know and love, but I hope you like it anyway!

So here we go, Enjoy!

To Be a Sky Knight

Just the Beginning

The huge iron gates loomed over the small crowd, blocking out the glare of the early morning sun and casting them all in cool shadow. But even the shadow couldn't stop the fact that it was an unusually warm day already and several people were removing jackets, looking around excitedly at their surroundings.

One boy was looking around with anything but excitement. His emerald green eyes were wide in fear as he stared at the closed gates, and his face was pale. He stood apart from the rest of the crowd, clutching a small bag which now contained all that was left of his life up to this point. His short stature and innocent face were all tell-tale signs of his obvious youth compared to the rest of the crowd, which was made up of parents and their children, all much taller and looking as though in their late teens.

I must be mental.

Aerrow's shocking red hair whipped round his face in the wind as he looked round from the gates to the Academy, over to the crowd made up of his new, and considerably older, classmates. He felt his gut twist as he noted how tall the rest of the teens looked, and how they looked confident and eager for the doors to open. Aerrow thought he would much rather that they remained closed for now.

Pull yourself together. He told himself firmly. You want this, you've always wanted this, and now it's finally happened. Now is not the time to chicken out.

Aerrow forced himself to turn back to the crowd and start walking towards them. First impressions are very important he knew, unfortunately, he wasn't very good at them. A couple of people looked over as he approached, and he wondered if it was possible to sink into the ground and disappear. A brown haired woman smiled warmly at him and he directed his steps towards her. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, but the words got caught in his throat as the nerves caught up.

"Hi." The woman looked at him expectantly, but still no words came out. "I'm Sofia, and this is my son Davey." A gangly looking, brown haired teen nodded at Aerrow, who managed to close his mouth and nod back. "He's nervous too." Sofia smiled gently at him again. He finally found his voice.

"I'm Aerrow. So, um, have you...travelled far?"

"Just from Tropica, so not too far. We've been ready to leave for weeks, haven't we Davey? We were so excited when he got the message to come immediately for this years intake. Where do you live?"

"Um, well sort of on Tranqua, but, we move a lot, so I haven't been there long, so we haven't really, lived, there...um." Aerrow felt his face warm and wondered if he shouldn't have bothered at all. The boy Davey wasn't even listening to him: he was staring past Aerrow and his mouth slowly began to open.

Aerrow whirled round in time to see the huge doors pulse with crystal energy and begin to slide open, the hinges creaking with age and chains rattling as the doors settled into their new positions, kicking up a cloud of dust which eddied in the air.

A tall man in shiny uniform walked forwards to greet the small crowd, silencing all their quiet conversations with his mere presence. His black hair was streaked with silver and when he stopped walking he stood fast to attention, arms pinned to his sides with military precision. A few people in the crowd tried to mimic him, but they looked sloppy and hunched compared to the rigidity of the newcomer. He smiled slightly at the feeble attempt though, and relaxed his position, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Greetings to you all. I am Sky Knight Commander Marcus, welcome to the Sky Knight Academy.

"This is an important day for all of you who are about to enter and begin your journey to an ancient and noble career. But this is not just a job: to be a Sky Knight is a lifelong commitment, one which is challenging and one which many of you here will never achieve." Aerrow looked around at the other teens' faces and was relieved to find he was not the only one looking anxious. He turned back as the Commander continued his speech.

"You have all passed the enrolment tests with top marks. Out of the fifty five young applicants we had this year, only the twelve of you reach the high standards and expectations of this Academy, and only a handful of you will graduate with a Knighthood at the end.

"You have four years here, in which time you may attempt the final tests three times. We do not permit first-years to enter, as you simply wont have the capabilities yet. If after the four years you have not passed the tests, which many of you wont, you will still graduate and will be free to join an existing Sky Knight Squadron or start a new one with a Knighted graduate. Only the very best become Sky Knights, but work hard and you can become a specialist in a Squadron.

"Now," Marcus paused as another man passed him a scroll, "I am going to call out your names one by one. You will walk forwards, face me, and recite the Code of Conduct, swearing to abide by the rules of this Academy and obey any order given to you by a Senior officer while you are here. You will salute when I salute you, then you will walk through the gates and into the mess hall on the right. This is your home now, and you will live as we live. Failure to follow orders or obey the rules will lead to expulsion. You have been warned." His hawk like eyes looked into the crowd, impressing the seriousness of this point into them all. He shook open the scroll.

"Abercroft, Batesson."

One by one the new students kissed their mothers cheeks, hugged their fathers, hoisted their packs higher onto their shoulder, and walked up to face the Commander. He stared into their eyes as each person reeled off the oath, some calm and confident, others quiet and nervous. When Aerrow's name was called he thought his stomach might fly right out of him from the number of butterflies now in it.

He felt the remaining student's eyes on his back as he stumbled his way up to the Commander. He had no mother or father there to say goodbye to, so he had nowhere to look but up at the open gates. When he reached Marcus he took a gulp and raised his head to look up into the tall man's eyes. The difference in their height was laughable; Aerrow had never felt more like a child in his life.

As he recited the oath, he thought about why he was there, what he had done to get there in the first place: all the aptitude tests, the mental problems and physical challenges put in his way to see if he had what it takes to go the Sky Knight Academy, the only place on Atmos where Sky Knights were trained. Anyone with combat or specialist training could join a Squadron, but only the very best were trained at the Academy, and only a Sky Knight could start a Squadron.

With a shock Aerrow realised he had finished and the Commander was saluting him. He hastily saluted back and breathed a sigh of relief as Marcus nodded him on to go through the gates. He started walking through, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder as he passed the gates and stepped into the Sky Knight Academy. His old life was over now, and this was just the beginning.

Like the idea? Want to hear more? Should I continue? Review and let me know please =) !~A4E~!