The sounds of birds tweeted throughout a forest, the forest itself seemed very dense and dark as it was the early hours of the morning on Adepta. The tweeting birds soon flew off as a figure walked down the dirt path which led through the forest, they were wearing a black biker jacket which had two thin red lines running from each shoulder down to the bottom of the front and back. They were also wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and some black boots. The boots had red lines which came from the back of the shoes running horizontally across the right side of the right boot and the left side of the left boot, said lines stopping halfway through the front of the boot's point at the front of the boot. As for the boy's age, he looked to be in his late teens.
A slight ring was heard from the person, they had earplugs in. Their hair was black and ran down to just above their light blue eyes. Their features, in general, were quite sharp. They were wearing a brown satchel which hung over their left shoulder. They made a stop to look around, looking inside their satchel for a map and looking at it.
"Hm." He put the map away and kept walking.
He soon made it to a large opening in the forest, his eyes widened as he saw a tower made out of black bricks which were lined with gold. The tower had a large gold window running through it. If he had to guess the tower was around 100 meters high. He exhaled as he looked at the entrance of the tower, which was a pair of black doors with golden door handles. He went towards the door and opened them.
The first thing he saw as he walked in was a reception area. A reception desk to the left and some seats on the other side to the right. No one was there. He walked up to the reception, noticing no one was there he went to the seats on the other side of the room and sat down, pausing his music and taking his earbuds out.
Soon enough the door behind the desk opened up, an Alter-Elf woman walking through it.
The Alter-Elf woman had short green hair, they were wearing a brown cloak. The boy looked up at her and soon stood up, approaching her.
When he reached the desk he cleared his throat before speaking.
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"Uhm...Hello. I am here for...studying." He simply stated, keeping calm. He had a slight British accent.
The woman looked at him, confused. "Studying? We haven't had spaces for new members open for nearly a year now. What makes you think anything has changed?" Her voice toting a slight Italian accent.
He took out the map and showed it to her. "I found this in Sapianus City."
She looked at the map. It showed directions of the tower from the nearby city.
"Hmm...this map is outdated I'm afraid. You see..." She showed him the map, pointing to a location on it called Prindon Church, before speaking again. "This place got demolished around a year and a half ago, this map is from then. Sorry, kiddo..but you're gonna have to go."
She gave him the map back, but he simply nodded slowly, taking the map and starting to walk out, he sighed as he did.
The elevator opened on the other side of the room, causing the boy to glance back. A tall man with long brown hair which was tied in a ponytail stood there, wearing a black parka coat with some brown joggers and black leather shoes. He had slight facial hair and looked to be in his late twenties. He looked at the boy and then at the receptionist.
"Who's that?" He said, having a strong British accent.
The receptionist responded. "A boy who I turned away. He found an outdated recruitment map and came here..."
"And you turned him away?"
"I mean..y-"
"No...it wasn't his fault he found an outdated map. They should really print dates on the bloody things.."
The boy kept staring, before turning fully, adjusting his satchel on his shoulder.
The man with the ponytail looked at the boy, grinning. "What's yer name boy?"
The boy spoke, raising a brow.
"Altara Dogma, sir."
"Sir? Nono...don't call me that. Heheh...call me Hugo. I am a simple battlemage, or more precisely a teacher of battlemages."
Altara nodded. "O-Oh..I see...I- I came here for recruitment but you can tell how that went..." He said awkwardly, itching the back of his head. He was blunt as usual.
Hugo shook his head. "Come, boy. I can take care of you." He walked up to Altara, extending his hand with a wink. "Consider yourself lucky that I came down here to get some fresh air. Otherwise you'll be on your way right now, eh?" He extended his hand. "You came here for one thing, yes? To study the Intelligent Energy known as Magik."
Altara looked down at Hugo's hand and shook it. "That is correct, si- Hugo. Thank you."
Hugo's grip was firm, he soon let go. "Good! I need more people to fetch me coffee anyways!" He chuckled, Altara looked at him with confusion before Hugo shook his head at him with a hearty laugh. "Don't worry boy I'm just kiddin!`"
And on this day forwards Altara's life changed...forever.