The Magical institute of Dawnward is a very exclusive institution for people gifted in the magic arts. They only let those who have talent enter its chambers and filter out everyone else. They are so adamant in protecting the secrets of magic that even the King would have a hard time getting permission to set foot inside.

But this was about to change.

The Sorcerers and Alchemists that lived in Dawnward were now gathered at the convention hall. Unlike the one in the Castle, this hall gave no feeling of extravagance sporting only 3 simple magic powered chandeliers. Its brickwork gave an old weary feel to the area, much like most of Dawnward. Instead of having a large stage at one end of the room, the hall had a large limestone podium erected at the middle with a spiralling staircase chiselled into the sides.

The men and women now gathered around the podium not really knowing what the reason for this gathering was. Most of them were quite frankly bored and uniterested with this gathering, as they were sure it would just be one of those talks reminding them to never fall to the wrong path etc. Burning Rose was thinking just that. She was bored and wanted to get back to her magic research.

“Ugh, why do we have to gather here? Do I really need to be reminded that I should not fall to evil?” Burning Rose exclaimed as she pouted angrily.

“Maybe they will remind you that you should take a bath once in a while and not hole up inside the chamber everyday” Serene River chimed in

“How dare you. I take care of my body properly thank you very much” Burning Rose said as she puffed up her chest

“If I don’t take care of my body then I will get sick, then I won’t be able to study magic. So obviously I take a bath” Burning Rose explained smugly

“Now, now. Maybe it's something important this time. I mean even the Alchemists are here.” Bright Sun joined in

“Oh yeah the Alchemists are here, speaking of which, where is Cursed Bat?” Burning Rose asked as she scanned the room

“I’m over here” A monotone voiced suddenly exclaimed behind the group of women.

“Whaaaa” The three women screamed

The three women were spooked by the sudden words and its very unnatural monotone voice.

“Stop doing that Cursed Bat! It’s very creepy.” Burning Rose angrily screamed at the small grey haired woman who appeared behind them

“I can’t help it” She said, still in a monotone voice

“I mean, you guys always say I don’t have a presence. So if I don’t come up to you myself then you will never find me” She declared

“Still please, don’t suddenly appear behind us” Bright Sun added in

“Yeah, you might give our local hermit a heart attack” Serene River said mockingly as she looked at Burning Rose

“Oh HA HA, very funny” Burning Rose said as she rolled her eyes.

After a few moments Grand Scholar Silver Eye entered the hall and made his way to the top of the podium. His expression was a mix of happiness and uneasiness, which made Burning Rose curious.

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“Hey, why does the old man look weird today?” Serene River asked Burning Rose

“I don’t know, I’ve rarely seen him smile like that” Burning Rose answered

“But at the same time he looks like he’s afraid. I wonder if something happened?” Bright Sun added

“Maybe it’s connected to the reason why we are gathered here. Even us Alchemists were required to attend.” Cursed Bat said.

Once Silver Eye reached the top of the podium he looked around the hall and examined the people gathered, he then let a small sigh and proceeded with his speech.

“My fellow practitioners of the magic arts” Silver Eye exclaimed

“I apologize for taking a little bit of your precious time but I have an important announcement to make.”

The crowd then began murmuring amongst themselves.

“For a Long time Dawnward has closed it walls off to the rest of the world and only accepted those who we deem worthy to partake in our knowledge.” Silver Eye continued

“But now I realized this has hindered the growth of our knowledge as we simply wallowed on pre-existing books like stagnating water. We need something new to invigorate and speed up our pace and to that end I have made an important decision” Silver Eye paused

The crowd were now anxious about what exactly this decision is. Is the requirement for entry being lowered? Did he find new ancient books? Will all of the Archives be accessible to everyone now? These were the questions running through everyone’s mind.

But reality is far stanger than our imagination.

“So I am here to announce that in a few days’ time we will have a new member enter into our walls and help us along our path. I am here to announce that I have permitted an Outsider to study within our walls” Silver Eye declared

The hall was now consumed by chaos.

“Outsider? The ones who came from another world?”

“Why? What can they possibly do to help us?”

“This is an insult to magic! How can we let some alien just walk into our sanctum of knowledge?”

These were among the large array of responses Silver Eye was met, but he didn’t bat an eye. He simply gestured his hand for the crowd to quiet down.

“Whatever your reaction maybe, my decision is final. I know this is hard to take in, but this is an opportunity unlike any other!” Silver Eye exclaimed

“But do not worry, I assume that most of you are afraid that the Outsider will run amok with the knowledge that he will gain. I have planned something to prevent that.” Silver Eye then found Burning Rose within the Crowd and smiled

“I will assign my pupil, my apprentice, Scholar Burning Rose to be the outsider’s guardian and assistant” Silver Eye declared.

“With that I now end my talk with you, now please continue with your day.” Silver Eye said as he started going down from the podium and left the hall.

Needless to say Burning Rose was now in shock. After staring at the floor for a good few seconds, she snapped out of her trance and ran to catch up to the Grand Scholar. Her friends followed behind closely.

It didn’t take a while for them to find the Grand Scholar, who was still making his way towards his personal study. Burning Rose ran up to him and confronted him.

“Teacher! What is the meaning of this?” Burning Rose asked with frustration

“It is as I said, you will guard and assist the outsider once he arrives here. He plans to study magic and help us unravel the secrets of magic” Silver Eye replied

“But why? Didn’t the reports say that the Outsiders were incapable of magic? How can they possibly help us?” Burning Rose now raised her voice

Silver Eye was suddenly deep in thought and then a smile formed on his face.

“Honestly I don’t know why I agreed” Silver Eye said in a calm voice

But before Burning Rose could talk back Silver Eye cut her off immediately

“It doesn’t matter what you say now, my decision will not be changed.” Silver Eye said in a stern voice

“Y-yes teacher” Burning Rose said bowing her head dejectedly

“And besides” Silver eye patter Burning Rose’s head

“You might learn a thing or two from him” Silver Eye exclaimed in a joyful tone

He then excused himself and continued his way to his Private study. Burning Rose’s emotions were now in turmoil, she felt betrayed. Her friends upon seeing this immediately tried to comfort her.

“There there it can’t be too bad” Bright Sun declared

“I mean, if he ever does anything funny you can always just zap him out of existence or something” Serene River chimed in.

Then a realization hit Burning Rose.

“Him?” Burning Rose said in a perplexed tone as the image of the tall blonde man from the banquet entered her mind.

She was now a bit afraid of what the future might hold.