A young boy strained against the chains binding his arms to the damp walls of a prison cell. Surrounded by others of various ages and backgrounds, all similarly shackled, he alone refused to surrender to despair.

Despite the raw wounds on his wrists, the boy's struggle persisted, driven by a heart boiling with hate and a mind consumed with thoughts of revenge. Rationality had long fled him, leaving only the dark embrace of vengeance.

"Wild and unrefined, just like those forest savages you hail from," sneered a voice dripping with disdain. A figure wrapped in dark robes, adorned with ancient symbols and glittering gems, stepped into the cell.

The boy bared his teeth, hatred radiating from him like heat from a fire. The sorcerer, unbothered by the boy's animosity, reached out, tracing a finger across the boy's wounded face.

"Such hatred, such potential. The power of darkness runs deep in you, boy," the old sorcerer murmured, his gaze piercing into the boy's very soul.

Fighting against the chains, the boy tried to swipe at the hand, snapping like a cornered animal. "I'll kill you!" he spat out, the first coherent words he'd managed.

A smile curled the sorcerer's lips as he withdrew his hand. "You will grow strong, perhaps as strong as me. Then we'll talk about revenge." With that, he turned and left, the boy glaring after him with unyielding defiance.

***

"Next!" The professor, clad in the traditional grey garb of the Illytian Academy, commanded attention.

A tall youth with jet-black hair and piercing dark green eyes stepped forward. He faced the class of fifty with a slight bow. "Faye Greener, from Pixie Meadows," he began, unfazed by the snickers at his homeland's name. "I’ll be studying soul magic. I enjoy sports, especially rowing and—dueling," he added, a sly smile playing on his lips at the last word. With another bow, he returned to his seat.

The room hummed with surprise, their expectations of someone from the borders thoroughly overturned. His words, with an obvious undertone of challenge, left a distinct mark, painting him as confident.

The classroom buzzed with whispers, but Faye sat unaffected, his expression devoid of the expected arrogance. Professor Neil, known as Brightnight, eyed him with curiosity and anticipation, sensing the freshman might stir the Academy, perhaps even Illytia, in unforeseen ways.

"Elara Nightshade," a voice announced, silencing the chatter. "From Magus Sanctum. Studying soul magic."

All attention shifted to the slender girl with ashen hair. Her introduction was brief, mirroring her no-nonsense demeanor. Despite her apparent discomfort with the limelight, it clung to her, an inevitable consequence of her noble lineage.

Faye mused sarcastically about his fortune to study alongside the Imperial Princess, his smile perfectly hiding the cynicism. The remainder of the introductions blurred into a monotonous drone, save for a rumored Duke's illegitimate child and Mistwalker's granddaughter. In fact, all freshmen boasted either a prestigious background or prodigious talent, fitting for the illustrious Illytian Academy, but there were always those who shined brighter.

As the session neared its end, Professor Neil, his golden hair and eyes matching his magic, addressed the class.

"As this year's supervising teacher, it is my pleasure to welcome each of you to our esteemed Academy." He paused, allowing the applause to subside, before proceeding. "While you are familiar with the Academy's regulations, I have a few guidelines of my own. Dedicate yourselves to rigorous study, strive for excellence in every subject, and refrain from bringing personal affairs into our classrooms. Adherence to these principles is not only the key to your survival here but also to your success."

A genuine smile touched Faye's lips. Professor Neil was the exact type of mentor he had sought at the Academy – a figure who valued merit over pedigree. However, he knew to tread carefully around the Professor, lest he expose his secrets.

Faye Greener's public persona was a meticulously constructed facade. Beneath it lurked a dark secret: he practiced blood magic, popularly known as dark sorcery. While not explicitly illegal in Illytia, it was shunned and subtly suppressed. To gain access to elite education and survive, Faye chose to pose as a soul magic practitioner. The very thought of attending the Academy and using blood magic under the noses of the realm's most powerful sorcerers would provoke laughter from anyone who knew the truth.

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However, Faye's determination remained unchanged. What did he have to lose apart from his bleak existence? Power was his only pursuit, the only thing worth living for.

"Faye, right?" A voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Yes, and you're Kai," Faye replied, his smile polite yet assertive, demonstrating his keen attention even to the presentations of the less notable students.

"You remembered my name," the young man wearing glasses remarked, oblivious to the subtle criticism in Faye's tone. "Our Professor's pretty intense, huh? The part about excelling in all subjects gave me chills. Looks like we're in for a tough time. I was hoping for someone more laid-back, like Professor Nightbloom."

Kai's easy approach annoyed Faye, who preferred maintaining a detached aloofness from his peers. However, the boy’s uncharacteristic friendliness required a courteous response.

"The Professor might be stricter, but he's fair and treats everyone equally," Faye replied, the undertone in his words more pronounced.

"You're right," Kai agreed.

Even in the prestigious Illytian Academy, preferential treatment was not uncommon, so the prospect of being under the impartial supervision of Professor Neil was somewhat comforting. The two continued their conversation, making their way down the hall towards the southern tower. Their paths would diverge soon, as they studied different magics, but for now, they shared the same basic classes.

Navigating through a hallway decorated with exotic plants and a cobbled path, Faye and Kai reached the base of the four-story tower, their class located on the second floor. Climbing the stairs, Faye moved with ease, but Kai was visibly struggling. By the time they reached the classroom, Kai was panting heavily.

They found seats in the middle row and settled in. After a ten-minute wait, a sorcerer in the Academy's standard grey teacher's garb entered. She was a red-haired, lean woman who appeared surprisingly young for a professor, though appearances were often misleading with sorcerers.

"Welcome to your first lesson in safe casting, I’m Professor Redfang.” She allowed for a brief pause before continuing.

"I don't dawdle, so let's get straight to it. This class will teach you how not to harm—or at worst, kill—yourself or others while casting. First rule: no combat spells without a teacher's supervision and permission. Now, let's discuss why spells misfire or lose control."

"As sorcerers, your power comes from one of five sources: void, nature, soul, light, or blood. You draw this energy and shape it into spells. Accidents usually happen due to overdraw – drawing more energy than your connection to the source can handle. This can happen due to stress, pressure, or inexperience. To prevent this you need training to remain calm and apt to draw at all times. A composed mind doesn't overdraw."

"For our first exercise, lasting the entire month," Professor Redfang continued, retrieving a white, opaque stone the size of a fist. "You're all familiar with glowing stones, I assume. Unlike the commercial ones with storage glyphs, these need continuous power to glow."

The professor's smile turned wicked as she casually tossed the glowing stone to the nearest student. "You'll need to keep this lit while doing all sorts of tasks - reading, talking, even running. Only those who maintain the glow through a full class of activities will earn passing marks for this subject. Come up and get your stone."

The classroom's reaction was a mixture of horror and feigned indifference. Faye, however, sported a rare, genuine smile. He understood the exercise's underlying purpose - it wasn't just about preventing overdraw, but learning to sustain a stable draw under stress, a fundamental skill for any adept sorcerer.

His past experience with prolonged draw periods gave him confidence, though he knew the exercise would still be beneficial. Drawing from blood often swayed one's emotions, and maintaining composure was one of the biggest challenges in the dark path.

Picking up his stone, Faye first attempted to power it using void drawn energy, but as he suspected, the stone was modified to respond only to a sorcerer's primary source. Settling back into his seat, he noticed his classmates already bringing their stones to life.

While every sorcerer could draw from the void as a secondary source, it lacked the power needed in stronger spells, serving mainly for cantrips or as a supplementary element.

With a controlled demeanor, Faye discreetly bent his right big toe against a small blade hidden in his shoe padding, drawing blood. Unflinchingly, he let the blood flow, drawing energy from it while keeping the wound open. His face had no signs of pain, only the typical focused frown of a soul sorcerer.

Powering the stone was easy, child's play even. The real test was maintaining that power over an extended period.

Soon, stones around the room began to flicker and fade as students struggled to keep their draw steady. Most of those who failed drew from soul, which, while the fastest to draw, was the weakest of the primary sources. For soul sorcerers, known for quickdrawing, this task was especially challenging.

However, Elara and a few other skilled soul sorcerers in the class remained unbothered, their stones steadily glowing. They had mastered their limitations and honed their draw output, understanding how to sustain the connection for extended periods. Faye kept up with his draw too, but he was actually drawing from a different source, making it somewhat of a hollow victory in his eyes.

Relief washed over the class as Professor Redfang declared the session over. Even Faye, who had somewhat circumvented the rules, felt the strain in the final minutes. While blood allowed for prolonged draw, extended bleeding posed its own risks, and he couldn't risk using another blood source without drawing attention.

The morning's lesson made it clear to Faye that his journey at the Illytian Academy wouldn't be as easy as he had anticipated. But this was precisely what he craved – a challenging environment that would push him, forcing growth and strength. After all, in this world, only the strong would prevail.