Calling the campus complicated would be an understatement, it simply felt like I was walking within a maze of constructions and facilities as I struggled to navigate through the building floor. Making my way to classroom twenty-five B, I had to ask the students I crossed paths with every now and then to help guide me through the easily forgettable hallways.
After the ceremony had finished yesterday, all the first-year students were taken to their dorm rooms, as the headmaster allowed us to rest for the entire day and start our lessons and induction the following morning. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but like always, this school was able to amaze me once again. It turns out that the dorm rooms were held in an entire building complex area separate from the school. Nothing like the apartments you would see in the outer city, but it was practically an entire city district all to itself. Of course, it would only make sense, since the school has a policy to keep all of its students and staff members on campus for the majority of their stay, so it's understandable they would need this much space to house the thousands of individuals attending the institution. But still, It just didn't feel real.
I turned the final corner on the fifth floor of the West Harrington building, and I saw my classroom at the end of the hall, with its number and letter resting above the door frame as students were filing in. I sped down the hallway and caught up with the group of kids entering the room and looked to find a seat.
The lecture hall, of course, was nowhere near the size of the main amphitheater we were in yesterday, but it had its own unique features. The room was obviously still very spacious, but would most likely only hold three hundred students max. The school had made individual timetables for each student, so depending on the class I would be in, I would be surrounded by different people within my year. I suppose I could understand why they would split each year into different classes since one lecture room couldn't hold the thousands of students within each year all at once, and also the fact that a single teacher wouldn't be able to handle thousands of kids at a single time. However, I couldn’t wrap my head around why they would make us be in different class groups for each subject. I mean, why not just let us stay with the same people all year round? I can only assume it has something to do with meeting new people in our year and making friends.
Despite my judgment of the classroom rotations, I took my seat near the back row at the top of the lecture hall. The inside of the room was a dome-like structure. It had a shoulder-height platform area in the center of the room with stairs leading up to it when you walked in, and the students were seated within the elevated seats surrounding the center of the room looking down upon the middle. I chose to sit in a comfy and secluded seat near the top, and I had a good view of all the students and the main podium down below, letting me take it all in.
Shortly after the room was filled and seats were occupied with students - demons and humans alike - a tall man with glasses briskly walked through the doors with books held between his armpits and made his way to the center platform, where he lay his books down on a desk provided for him. He then moved his thin figure to the middle of the platform, letting his black cloak lift slightly into the air after him as he made the quick movement.
“Hello, new first years,” he said with a clear deep voice. “My name is Professor Fillman, and I will be your teacher in “Mana theory” for your entire stay at Haulburn academy.” He turned around and looked up at the students who sat behind him.
“This course will be mostly filled with note-taking, questions, and answers and you going away and practicing what we learn in your own time, to then apply it within your other subjects.”
He took a long pause to examine the room before he continued on.
“So, let's not waste any time. My first question to you all…” He looked down, as if in deep thought about his next words.
“What is mana?” He said finally.
Multiple hands flew up into the air with speed. I would have done the same myself, but I decided to sit back and watch for a bit.
“You there, blond with the ponytail” He pointed to a girl near the middle section of the seats to his left.
“Mana is a force we can manipulate that is ambient within the air around us.” she replied.
“Hmm, I suppose.” He said “But let's try to be a bit more precise. Who else?” he said quickly, then pointing to somewhen else behind him.
“Mana is a force that we can control that isn't only in the air, but also naturally within our bodies.” a male voice rang.
“Ahh, we are getting closer. Does anybody want to add to that?” Professor Fillman said, looking around. However, it seemed the majority of the hands had now dropped back down. Not sure what else there was to be said.
“Well, this is interesting, isn't it? We are struggling to define what mana really is, despite it being used within our history for as long as we can remember, you would think the people of today could at least describe it.” He said sarcastically.
“When you look at it on a surface level, both of you are correct. Mana is indeed an ambient force that we can take control of that resides within the air and innately in our bodies. But why is that?” he asked rhetorically.
“Our bodies innately contain water, and yet, nobody in the history of Lumerick has been able to control water itself without the help of an arc stone,” he said with a mysterious look on his face. If his intention was to capture our interest, it definitely worked. The entire class was silently waiting for his next words, and even I was somewhat moving to the edge of my seat to hear his conclusion.
“Perhaps, there is something that we have within us that lets us command the mana within the atmosphere and within our bodies. Does anyone know what that thing could be?” he said, raising a hand to his side in the air.
Multiple arms were raised in the air again, and I had lifted my own to answer his question as well, but unfortunately, I wasn't chosen.
“We have mana bodies, sir,” A student replied.
“Exactly, we all have mana bodies. The structure of our internal foundation is made up of two parts; our physical bodies and our mana bodies… well three really, if you want to include the soul.” He scoffed. "We can leave that for religious studies."
“My point is," he continued. "Our physical bodies contain and require an external intake of water in order for us to survive. Similarly, our mana bodies, from birth, contain mana within them and require an intake of mana for it to begin developing and therefore survive. So, with that being said, mana is a fundamental force that resides within us, but also ambient within the atmosphere which we are required to intake for our mana body to begin to mature.” he finished. "You could say that mana is the water of an individuals mana body."
The classroom responded with the sound of hums that reflected an understanding of the new knowledge bestowed upon them.
“What we need to understand is that these two structures work in harmony. Obviously, as we all already know, our physical bodies don't require the mana body to survive. However, if we train our physical bodies, the competence of our level to withstand mana will increase. The same can be said for the opposite way, if we increase our control over mana within our mana bodies, we can affect and enhance the things our physical bodies can do. But, of course, this is all common knowledge too.” Professor Fillman said.
He turned towards his desk and looked at some papers he picked up in his hands. Then, he turned to look up at all of us before he spoke again.
“In this course, I can teach you how to control your mana bodies to their maximum potential, and increase your knowledge on how to manipulate the mana not only within you but around you as well. By the time you reach your final year in this school, you will be able to call out to the ambient mana within the atmosphere and it will answer your commands willingly. It will be a strenuous journey and it will most definitely get you thinking, however, if you really keep up with this course, you will be able to learn things you could never imagine. ” He finished.
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His words had an effect on the classroom, everything seemed to be brighter. His words were so motivating, I knew that whatever he had to teach us would be vital to gaining strength. I have a good feeling about this professor.
For the next hour, Professor Fillman gave us a small introduction to the mana theory course and explained what we would be learning within our first year. He also provided us with places to go sightseeing on the campus in our own time and gave us advice on how to make our way around the school grounds without getting lost at the end of the lesson. Although his information on the school campus was informative, he said it would probably take us a couple of months before we got comfortable on the campus without assistance.
Since the year groups were so big, you could only have so many classes per day, and today I only had two classes, including the mana theory that just finished. Looking at my calendar again, I began to head back to my dorm room where I would wait through my free period, and then head to my final class of the day just before lunchtime.
The school campus was split into eight districts; the North district, North-east district, East district, South-east district, South district, South-west district, West district, and North-west district. The East district - where the dorm villages were held - was on the other side of the school from where I currently was, since my mana theory class takes place within the Western district. Unfortunately, the size of the campus would make my journey from one of the main districts - North, East, South, and West - to another, could take up to an hour depending on how fast I would walk. Thankfully, the school had used its funds to invest in a tramline that circled around the circumference of the school campus to help the student traverse with ease.
As I made my way toward an empty tram carriage, I felt the touch of a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to face the boy who had gained my attention.
“Hey, that ring on your finger, it's elven, right?” the boy asked. When I analyzed him, his hair was a disheveled copper brown, and he was panting after coming to a stop in front of me. He wore thin glasses that sat comfortably atop his eyes and in addition to his bag that seemed to be overflowing with books, I could see a stack of spines under his left armpit slowly slipping from his grip.
“Oh,” he said with a surprised tone. “Well actually, now that I can get a better look at it, it seems to be specifically from Doriveir. Hmm, yes, those detailed carvings and the way it intertwines within itself is truly beautiful.” The boy said. “Where did you get it?” He asked.
“It was a gift,” I said curtly. The boy gave me an obnoxious vibe, and I tried to make it obvious that I didn't want to continue the conversation any longer.
He looked up at me and stared silently for a second, then rose from bending over to look at my fingers to meet me eye-to-eye once again.
“My name is Leo,” he said directly, “Leo Hurston, I didn't mean to come off weird, but when I saw your ring in our mana theory class, I couldn't help myself but to see it up close.”
“Well, and what do you think now?” I asked while hopping into my carriage to exit this awkward interaction.
“Yes, it's… an interesting piece of equipment to wear so openly in public,” he said while getting in behind me and plotting himself down on the seat across from me. He was a direct individual, but clearly too oblivious to tell when someone wanted their personal space.
I paid no attention to his words but was slightly agitated at the fact he followed me in here without even knowing my name. I don't mind sharing, but still, I had just met the guy and he acted as if we were friends of some sort.
He took another scrutinizing glance at me, almost as if he were trying to see through me at the walls of the now moving compartment we sat in. As the tram carriage moved onto the line next to where it was stationed, we took off and the view of the East district entrance gates was left behind us.
“I hope you don't mind me asking, but, where are you from exactly?” He said with his head tilted to the side.
“I'm from a small farming village just south of the capital”
“Oh, your parents are farmers?” He seemed disappointed by my answer. “I don't mean to be rude but I didn't think the salary of a farmer could afford to come this school.
“Well, actually, my father is an retired adventurer,” I explained. "He just settled down there."
“I see, so back when we was an adventurer, he must have traveled a lot then, perhaps to other countries?” He asked eagerly. His expression had changed to a more positive one. ‘What is he trying to get at?’ I thought.
“No, he used to tell me that he only ever traveled within Sunderland. And then, when he met my mother, they settled down." I replied.
“Oh,” he said sadly. Back to his disappointed self. He looked out the window at the passing scenery of the grounds between the districts, and the lack of conversation now turned awkward. I had to say something.
“My name is Elex, by the way. Elex Vinspear.”
“Well then, Elex, you should know - if you didn't already - that that ring on your finger isn’t something you should flaunt around so boldly,”
“And why is that?” I asked with concern.
“I'm sure you know that the ring around your finger is… well, somewhat exclusive. I'm positive if somebody educated enough had a good look at it they would become suspicious.”
‘What was that supposed to mean?’ I thought to myself. It was an expensive accessory, there was no denying that, but it's not like I was making a statement - not one that I knew of anyway. Was there more to this ring than it being a storage for mana? And what did he mean by “suspicious”? I pushed his comments to the back of my head and heeded his words of advice.
“Well, if you really think that its such much of a problem, I’ll try to keep it out of sight,” I said while putting my hands in my pockets. “Anyway, what class do you have next?” I asked.
"I have religious studies after this and then my timetable is free for the day. You?”
“Practical Sparring”
“Are you much of a fighter?”
“I like to think so. I trained with my father a lot in past”
“I guess it makes sense,” he said. “With you being an adventurer's son and all, you were bound to become a fighting brute like the rest.”
What’s with this guy? So up-front, no filters, it's like he just says whatever comes to his mind.
“Sounds like you have a problem with adventurers, who - if you didn't already know -,” I said mockingly “make up a large amount of the population, and are one of the most popular occupations in the continent,” I said.
He smirked, “Thats because its middle-class job. It's high risk high reward for those with little money. The nobility that involve themselves in it only do it for individual glory or to bring honour to their house. And I don't have anything personal against them, all I'm saying is that you fall in with the rest. Nobility or not, everyone considers adventuring. There's nothing special about you.”
“Oh, and what makes you so much better than the rest of us?”
“I'm not saying I'm better, but those arc stones and muscles are your powers, these books, and my brain are my mine. Our society simply can't evolve without each other, and I think there is an abundant amount of fighters already, to the point where it seems unnecessary considering the war has been over for nearly two hundred years now.” He explained.
The train pulled up at the southeast district gate and Leo began to arise from his seat to leave the carriage. He stepped outside the doors, turned to me, and said,
“This is where I get off, but don't think just because we are parting ways we won't talk again. I have a lot of questions to ask you and I'll make sure to keep my suspicions about you to myself, Elex Vinspear.” He said with a smile. As he waved back to me he bumped into other students walking towards him, causing his books to fall from his hands and scatter across the floor. I cringed as my carriage took off again to the East district.
Suspicions? Could he know about the Trigon, or was it something else? I'm not sure how I felt about Leo, so maybe the best thing to do would be to avoid him for now. Although, there were also many things I wanted to ask him. He seemed like a smart person, maybe he could tell me what he knows about Trigon.
When the carriage arrived at my destination, I got off hastily and headed to my dorm room. I was still surprised as to how the staff was able to deliver all of my belongings to my room during the opening ceremony. Everything I had brought with me was there, not a single piece of my belongings had gone missing.
For the remainder of my free period, I lay on my bed while flipping through a mana theory textbook professor Fillman had given us at the end of the period. I quickly brisked through the index for any chapters that seemed interesting before I decided to put the book down. ‘ Hmm, "altering your physical body's weight”, seems interesting,' I thought to myself.
As I got up from my bed to sit at my desk to read further, I noticed that I still had the Princess’s hair clip in my possession. I wasn't sure how I was meant to go about returning it to her. It would seem strange If a random guy she had never met suddenly appears with her hair clip almost a full day after she had lost it. And the longer I don't give it to her, the worse it will be when I do give it to her.
In my mind of thought, the clock ticked quicker than I would have liked. It was nearing the time for my last lesson of the day, and it would also be one of the most interesting classes on my timetable. “Practical sparring”. I dropped my things onto my desk and kept the Princess’s hair clip in a drawer out of site. Locking the door behind me, I made my way back to the tram line to get a carriage and make my way to the training fields in the school. The North district.