As it turned out, the mess hall was only a short walk away from the first-year dorm buildings. As they all walked towards it, heading past the various stone buildings and courtyards that pockmarked the Luminarium's campus, Pale had to admit that out of everything she'd experienced so far, being here was probably the single most alien thing to her.

Admittedly, that felt strange to say, given some of the horrors she'd faced since her arrival on Sjel. But really, it was just how mundane being here was – out of all the things that could have possibly happened to her, being forced to attend school was probably towards the very bottom of her list. The fact was, she was a war machine; the closest thing she'd ever had to school had been a very rudimentary training program that had only lasted a few weeks, and even that was more designed just to make sure that she was functioning perfectly. The moment her creators had established that all her systems were green, she'd been pulled out of the training program and set to work, fighting and killing Caatex like it was second nature to her.

And now she was here, attending school like a normal person.

Something about that didn't sit right with her, but Pale tried not to let it show on her face as she continued walking along with the others. With any luck, her time here would be brief and fleeting, though obviously, that depended entirely on how quickly it took her to find an answer to what she was looking for.

Idly, Pale went through her systems, cataloging everything she'd need to get herself fixed. In the periphery of her vision, several charts and reports were opened and categorized from severity of damage to ease of repairs. Aside from raw materials – steel and the like – she'd need a way to weld her hull and engines back together. Fire magic might have been enough to accomplish that, but the problem there was that she doubted it would burn hot enough to properly stitch panels of metal together the way she needed. Plus, there was the issue of the raw materials themselves; short of starting her own refineries, she'd need to find something that could serve as a good enough substitute to get herself moving again. And then there was the fuel problem as well…

Pale shook her head, gritting her teeth as she did so. With a small sigh, she decided an in-depth diagnostic scan was in order. Normally, this kind of thing was something she'd just run in the background, especially since there'd almost always been something more pressing that had required her attention instead. But now, with things settled down, she had more than enough time to go over everything in-depth.

Her stomach rumbled, and Pale paused for a moment before shaking her head. The in-depth diagnostics could wait until she had food in her belly, at least.

XXX

Glisos and Virux threw open the doors to the mess hall, letting them all enter. A few of the students gasped at the sight that awaited them, and Pale wasn't exactly confused as to why – the mess hall reminded her of a very fancy restaurant, or at the least the idea of one that had been imprinted in her memory banks. As with the rest of the campus, it had been carved out of some kind of yellow stone, with those same pillars and chain-like pattern circling around them. Gemstones had been inlaid throughout the walls in evenly spaced increments, casting a faint glow across the entire room. Ornate wooden tables and chairs were lined up in rows – Pale counted enough to seat around four-hundred people, though presently, it seemed that they were the only ones here. She didn't doubt that there were other students at the Luminarium, but so far, they'd hadn't seen any of them yet.

Professors Marick and Tomas were nowhere to be found, though Kara was seated at the other side of the room. The floor upon which her chair rested had been raised several feet up, allowing her to easily see across the entire room. Next to her was a man Pale didn't recognize, though just from what she could tell, he was very old. He was dressed in a dull gray cloak that fell down to the floor, covering his legs completely. A large white beard flowed down from his chin to almost the center of his chest, the color matching with the small patch of white hair that adorned the top of his head. A set of thick-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, and he peered through them with dull blue eyes. In his right hand, he clutched a large wooden staff, the top of which had a big gemstone the size of his fist perched on it; Pale's eyes just about bugged out of her skull when she realized it was a rough cut diamond.

"Pale?" Kayla asked from next to her as she took her seat. "You seem surprised about something. Is everything alright?"

"Fine," she said, quickly recovering. "It's just… that man has a very large diamond on the top of his staff."

Kayla paused. "Wow. I, um… no offense, but I didn't take you for the type to appreciate jewelry."

Pale shook her head. "It's not that. A diamond that size would cost a lot of money where I come from. I don't care about such things, myself, but it is surprising to see someone flaunt it so openly."

"He's not flaunting it," Cal said from behind her. Both girls turned to look at him, and he locked eyes with Pale as he approached. "That's headmaster Albrecht. He's one of the most powerful mages in history."

"Is he now?" Pale asked.

Cal nodded. "You know how when people turn fifteen and get their sjel unlocked, their magical affinity is appraised at the same time? Albrecht unlocked his on his own five years before that, which is unheard of. Not only that, but he had affinities for three types of magic, not just one or two."

"The Luminarium offered him entry on the spot," Cynthia chimed in, stepping up alongside Cal. "He was the youngest entrant in almost two-thousand years. The professors called him a one-in-a-million prodigy, and he lived up to it."

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"What did he do to earn that kind of reputation?" Pale questioned.

"Oh, you know, the usual – developed or improved upon a lot of different magical theories, hunted a lot of very dangerous monsters, killed his way across more than a few battlefields… you name it, he's probably done it."

Pale frowned. "All that and he ultimately decided that teaching a bunch of spoiled rich people is what he wanted to do with his life?"

"Admittedly, it is a strange decision," Cal offered. "But nobody really knows the real reason why he chose to return here and spend the rest of his life running the place except for him. To my knowledge, he never gave anyone who asked a straight answer, and eventually, people decided to stop asking in case they angered him."

"He's quick to anger, then?"

Cynthia shook her head. "No… but when you're dealing with a mage of his caliber, it's best to err on the side of caution."

Pale nodded in understanding. "And the diamond on his staff? What's that for?"

"It's a foci for his magic," Cal explained. "I'd explain more, but honestly… I'm sure we'll be getting the crash course on that sooner rather than later. From what I can see, most of the people in our class haven't yet developed their own foci yet, so I assume that'll be an early lesson for us all."

Pale blinked, then turned to Kayla. "Do you know anything about what they're talking about?"

Kayla bit her lip and shook her head, her tail swishing behind her. "I mean, I've heard about foci before, but I was under the impression that it was for advanced magic users… you really think that'll be an early lesson?"

Cal nodded. "If you wanted it to be easy, then you should've picked a different magic academy. Don't worry, though – Cynthia and I, we've already got foci on our own. If you need any help understanding it past the first class, come to us, we'd be happy to teach you both."

Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

At that moment, the last of the students entered the mess hall, and Glisos shut the doors behind them before clapping his hands together, silencing the entire room.

"Find a seat," he commanded. "And be quick about it, too."

They all obliged, hurriedly sitting down in the nearest seat available to them. Glisos nodded in approval once he saw they were all seated, then strode through the room to get to the raised podium that Kara, Virux, and Albrecht were already at. As he settled in, Albrecht stood up and cleared his throat.

"First off, I would like to offer a moment of silence for those initiates who did not survive the entry exam," he said. He didn't raise his voice at all, and yet somehow, it still echoed across the room.

He bowed his head for a moment, and the students did the same, only looking back up once he cleared his throat once more.

"Now then, I would also like to extend a round of congratulations for those of you who made it here," he offered. "It is my hope that you do not let the tragic loss of your fellow initiates spoil what should be a very happy and momentous occasion for all of you. This is your first step into becoming true masters of your sjel, and you all should be proud of making it here."

A round of applause went up through the crowd, though it only lasted a moment before Albrecht raised a hand, silencing them.

"It goes without saying, but you all have a hard path laid out in front of you," he explained. "It will not be easy. It will not even be entirely safe, all the time. But the rewards at the end are great, and I am confident that any one of you who is willing to put in the work and apply yourself will, in the end, succeed at your chosen path. But that is something to worry about for another day… for now, I want you all to enjoy the fruits of your labor so far."

At that, Albrecht jabbed the bottom of this staff into the stone floor, the noise echoing through the mess hall. The moment he did so, several doors scattered around the room opened, and men and women in fancy dinner outfits – suits and dresses – came flowing in, their arms full of trays. Pale scarcely had time to react before a plate of food was shoved in front of her, along with a glass of what appeared to be ale. She blinked, and her brain finally registered what she'd been served: a large chunk of steak that appeared to have been cooked to perfection.

"Oh, wow…" Kayla muttered next to her as she stared at her own steak. "This looks expensive…"

"It's a bone-in, thirty-two ounce ribeye, cooked about as well as one possibly could be cooked," Cal said, his mouth already full of steak. "And if my estimation is correct, it probably costs more than the average day laborer makes in a week."

"Cal, your mouth is full…" Cynthia gently chastised.

Kayla blinked, her eyes widening in surprise. "Um… is it really okay for me to eat this? I mean… it's so expensive…"

"Consider that a perk of being a part of the best magic academy in the world," Cal answered, his mouth still full. Next to him, Cynthia gave a small groan of embarrassment, her face flushing red; Cal swallowed what was in his mouth with a content sigh, then looked back to Kayla. "Seriously, you should enjoy yourself."

Kayla still seemed hesitant, even as she cut off a piece of steak, though her hesitation faded as soon as she placed her fork in her mouth. In that moment, her eyes lit up, her ears perked up, and her tail began to swish behind her as she dug in with fervor.

Pale, meanwhile, found herself forced to hold back a thin smile as she watched her friend enjoy her food. It had been a long time coming, but finally, Kayla and her were able to truly relax, even if only for a moment.

XXX

Eventually, the food stopped coming and the ale stopped flowing, and they were all left to sit there, regretting their decision to eat and drink so much. Pale had been far more measured than most in her consumption; she'd eaten most of her steak and had a single glass of ale, and then had decided to back off. Even Kayla, for all her thinly-veiled gluttony, had known when to call it quits, and had stopped after finishing her own steak and ale. Cal and Cynthia, meanwhile, looked absolutely miserable, as did most of the rest of the students.

Idly, Pale couldn't help but wonder if this was some sort of test, and if they were now going to be expected to run a mile or something along those lines. She certainly hoped not; they would all surely fail if that was the case.

Thankfully, the professors had mercy on them. Albrecht wiped at his face with a napkin, then stood up to address them once more.

"I am pleased to see that you've all eaten your fill," he said. "Before we part ways for the night, there is one more matter to discuss. As some of you may be aware, the Luminarium has precious few professors qualified to help run the school. As a result, there are often gaps that need to be filled – not in teaching, but in managing the rest of the campus, and chiefly, in managing the students. To that end, every year, the Luminarium brings on a series of temporary adjunct helpers, dedicated to assisting with whatever needs to be done. Without further ado, please give a warm welcome to this year's adjunct faculty."

A round of applause went up as the doors to the mess hall opened, and several older adults began to file in. Most of them looked as expected – nobles of some kind, no doubt sent by the family members of the students to keep an eye on them. None of them were worth noticing, at least until the final one entered the room, and Pale's eyes opened in disbelief. She looked over to Kayla to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but Kayla's angry surprise only confirmed what Pale already knew to be fact.

He was almost unrecognizable. The long, flowing blonde hair had been cut very short, and his entire body was adorned with scars and burns. An eye patch was settled over his right eye socket, and the ends of a scar poked out from underneath either side of it. He was missing his right arm, and walked with a slight limp. But even through the injuries, there was no mistaking who it was.

Somehow, someway, Sven Greymane had made his way to the Luminarium.