"This will be your dorm for the next 4 years." Felix said as he placed his hand on the mana recognition scanner, opening the door. "We will get you entered into the system soon. Only you, friends you choose to enter, and staff can enter this room when the door is closed. Please, take a look."
Ciar stepped inside the room, marveling at its lavishness. The room was large, and had two stories. It was a perfect square, with a staircase up to a partial second floor across the room. Deep blue carpet covered the floor, the walls were made of polished wood, and the ceiling was decorated with a shifting night sky. Ciar gazed at it, momentarily enthralled by the ever changing constellations.
"You can turn off the animated ceiling at anytime with the mana sensor on the left wall." Felix said, noticing Ciar's gaze.
"No...no...I think it will be quite all right." Ciar said absent mindedly as he looked around the rest of the room.
A large bed was in the back right corner, and a walk in closet, doors open, was in the center of the back wall. A small study area was situated in the front right corner, complete with a desk, chair, rolls of paper, pens, and ink. Ciar headed up the stairs in the back of the room, taking a look at the upper level. It covered half the area of the ground floor, and a railing allowed the student to look down at the floor below.
"This upper level has been magically enhanced to withstand damage. A mana shield is deployable with the mana sensor on the back wall, just to the right of the stairs. While large area-of-effect magic is still discouraged, it should be able to withstand anything you can use, as it is powered by the mana reserves of the school, just like any other mana controlled technology here." Felix explained as he reached the top floor.
Ciar continued to explore his room, still awe-struck by its appearance. Just to test it out, he walked over to the mana sensor on the second floor and inspected it. It look lack a rectangle of steel hanging on the wall like a picture. The front of it glowed a light, iridescent blue. Ciar, mimicking Felix from earlier, placed his palm against it and injected a little bit of Void Power. A light hum filled the air as a blue shield sprung up on the second floor. It covered the walls, ceiling, floor, and railing completely, tainting the light inside a dim blue.
"How do I turn it off?" He ask Felix.
"Just simply input Void Power into the mana sensor and it will turn off." Felix answered.
Ciar did as he said, and the shield disappeared instantly. Satisfied, Ciar turned and headed back down the stairs.
"If you are done checking your room, I would like to give you a tour of the rest of campus." Felix stated, coming up to stand beside Ciar.
"Alright, I'm ready to go." Ciar decided. As he exited the room, he glanced briefly up at the ceiling. He knew his mother would have loved to see his room. She had been escorted back out the same way they had come in. Felix had said it was necessary for school security, as family members could be tortured to give up the layout. Ciar had thought this excessive, but had not complained, as his mother had, if a little reluctantly, agreed. He guessed he would just have to wait until break to tell her about it.
The pair exited the room, returning to the hallway. The entire hallway was made of polished wood, magically enforced to withstand impacts.The hallway was long, but only five doors were on either side. They were standing on the second floor of one of the 10 dorm buildings on campus. Each building was 6 stories tall, with 20 rooms on each floor. There were two main halls on each floor, each with 10 rooms accessible from the hallway. The ground floor had no rooms, but had a training room for physical exercise, a restaurant for eating, and other forms of entertainment for students. This brought the total number of rooms on campus to 1000. This was the maximum number of students allowed to be enrolled at once. 400 spots were always filled by actual students, while the remaining 600 were filled by already graduated students who opted to remain on campus and continue learning. Each year, a certain number of alumni were required to leave, starting with the oldest alumni, depending on the number that had left voluntarily during the school year.
Exiting the building, the pair entered Dorm Square. While it was called a square, it was actually a pentagon. Each side had two dorm buildings connected to it, with a pathway leading away from the square in between each pair of buildings. Dorm Square was located in the very center of campus, and its pathways branched out to every other facility. To the south was the path that led to the entrance of Lunaris. To the southeast, the pathway led to the magic part of the academy. The southwest led to the martial art part or the academy. The Northeast led to the magical engineering and alchemy section of campus. To the Northeast led to the faculty buildings, including the directors. Along the northeastern and northwestern paths, two more branched off, leading to the same location farther above the northern point of the pentagon. At the intersection point, the Grand Hall was located. This building housed all orientations, meetings, and assemblies. Across from the grand hall was the Arena, where all competitions were held between students. The entire campus was surrounded by a circular, silver wall. Over top of the campus, a magical dome blocked all bad weather, along with any attempts to spy on the interior. From outside the shield, you would see a different layout than the actual campus. At the center of Dorm Square, a large fountain rose 20 meters into the air. Water cascaded down the north and south sides of the fountain, falling into two crescent shaped pools below. Surrounding the fountain was a grassy park, decorated with trees and inhabited by several kinds of harmless wildlife. Students could gather here to socialize, take a break from studies, or to simply enjoy the wildlife around them.
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Five hours later, Ciar was sitting alone on his bed. He had been given the rest of the day to relax and select his classes. Given his "void-touched" status, he was given a special list of classes that would benefit him. At first, he had only been given magical courses, but upon his request, the list had been modified to include martial art, engineering, and alchemical classes. Looking at the list, Ciar was surprised to find his choices rather limited.
Magic:
Basic Magic Theory
Basic Time and Reality Magic
Basic Space and Gravity Magic
Psionic Studies
Daily applications of magic
*note - Void is not a type of magic practiced here, as only a few people can use it, you will have to learn it on your own
Martial Arts:
Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat
Basic Weapons Training
Basic Martial Theory
Lost Arts (Director Input - take in place of Hand-to-Hand Combat. Not usually available)
Body Training
Magic Engineering:
Basic Application of Mana in Technology (BAMT)
Basic Technological Weapons
Basic Enchanting
Alchemy:
Basic Alchemy
Basic Plant Studies
Basic Poisons
Basic Potions
Looking at the list, Ciar decided he had limited choices not only due to his unique situation, but also because he was a first year student. All the courses had basic in front of them, implying that more advanced courses would be available. Students at Lunaris had 10 classes. Each one lasted one hour, starting at 8 AM and ending at 6 PM. This gave students enough time to get some studying in, while also giving time to rest. Classes took place 6 days a week, with the one remaining day being a free day for students to do as they choose. Most students choose to practice or study, as the schedule was tight and classes strict. After thinking for a while, Ciar decided which classes to take.
Basic Time and Reality Magic, Basic Space and Gravity Magic, and Psionic Studies were obvious choices. He excelled in all of these types of magic to an amazing degree, so he would be foolish not to learn them. Basic Weapon Training, Lost Arts, and Body Training were his next three picks. Lost Arts was an obvious choice. The director had made it clear this was the class to take, and Ciar would not argue with him. Basic Weapon Training was to advance his skill with a sword or pick up another weapon, and Body Training was so that he did not have to dedicate time outside of class to his body. Finally, Ciar chose Basic Technological Weapons, Basic Enchanting, Basic Alchemy, and Basic Poisons. Basic Technological Weapons was because he was genuinely curious about more advanced weaponry. Basic Enchanting and Basic Alchemy were chosen because of his high affinity for both classes. Basic Poisons was chosen because he thought it would be useful to be well versed in poisons, whether it was using them or defending against them.
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Tomorrow was Orientation Day for the first years. It started at 8 AM and was to be held in the Grand Hall. The rest of the day would be for the first years to socialize and make friends. After tomorrow, classes would begin immediately. Ciar didn't have much to do, so he decided to go and check out the training facility in his dorm building. He had learned from Felix that the moon on his ceiling tracked the time, and with specific input on the Mana Sensor, could emit a loud noise at certain times. It would be very useful to make sure he didn't miss classes.
When he reached the training room, he was met with a lot of unfamiliar things. He was used to simply using his own body weight to train, but the students currently inside were using an assortment of magically created items to train. Stepping inside, Ciar ignored the stares he was attracting and headed to a collection of items that were sitting on some multi-layered shelf. He tried to pick one up, but it wouldn't budge. Confused, Ciar tried the others, but failed to lift each one. A voice interrupted him as he failed once again to lift a weight.
"What's a kid doing in here anyway, you wander on campus on accident."
"Don't be stupid Kennon, you know that's not possible. This little guy must be a new student."
"New student? How could they accept someone who doesn't even know what weights are?"
"He's probably not a noble, he doesn't even know what to wear, he's still in a suit."
Startled, Ciar checked himself and realized he had forgotten to change. He had been so into the campus and its facilities that he hadn't even thought of changing. Annoyed, Ciar finally turned around to face the boys behind him. In front of him stood two boys, each in their teens. The one who just finished speaking was stocky and short for his age, standing just above Ciar in height. He had dark brown hair that fell sloppily around his ears. His horns were about half a centimeter iln length and bright green. Two squinting eyes peered at Ciar, like they were inspecting a rat or bug. He wore a bright green, sleeveless shirt and loose pants. The other boy, the first to speak, was much taller, with Ciar only coming up to his chest. He was thinner, but his muscles were well defined. Black horns about a centimeter in length extended from his forehead, jutting out like daggers. He had short cut black hair, and a bit of stubble on his chin. Upon seeing Ciar turn around, he stepped forward.
"I don't know what your doing in here, but only the older kids lift here. I think you should go try the 2 kilogram weights over there." He said, pointing to another set of weights that were much smaller than the ones Ciar was currently trying to lift.
"Yeah," the other said, "you're to weak to lift..." He stopped talking when he finally noticed Ciar's horns. At first, he was taken aback by the horns, but soon his face contorted into a snear.
"So you got in here because your oh so good with magic eh? In case you haven't noticed, this is the training room. Warriors come here to train, not weak mages!" He said, his voice slowly rising to a shout as he stepped forward to push Ciar. Before Ciar could retaliate, something flashed in front of him. Ciar stumbled backwards, and watched in amazement as the bully was stopped in his tracks, his outstretched hand twisted behind his back. A boy was holding his arm behind his back, a look of disgust on his face.
"You two have done this every year for the past three years! How many times do I have to tell you not to pick on new kids? How many Kennon!" He shouted, his eyes on the black haired youth. The tall boy stepped back, a look of fear on his face.
"W-we didn't mean it Ryle, really we were just having fun with him!" He shouted, his voice cracking slightly. The intruder laughed coldly, before kicking the stocky kid toward Kennon, stepping back toward Ciar as he did so.
"Scram now, before I issue a formal report and issue a challenge for the Arena." After he finished, he turned to Ciar, smiling apologetically at him. Before he could say a word though, and enrage Kennon began to speak. Turning around swiftly, Ryle interrupted him.
"I know what your going to say Kennon, and I don't want to hear any of your bullshit! I know he's a commoner, I know he's a mage, and I know he's just a kid. Just because your jealous because his horns are as big as yours and he's half your age is no excuse to bully the kid, let alone because he can't lift. I remember when I first came here, you struggled to lift the 10 kilogram weight, and you were 13! Now fuck off Kennon, or I will issue a challenge!"
Kennon stepped back again, stunned. Then, glancing one last time at Ciar, his face twisted with rage and shame, he turned and stalked off, leaving the training area. His buddy followed close behind him, still delicately messaging his shoulder. Ryle turned to Ciar once again, offering his hand. Ciar looked at the boy, taking in his appearance. He looked like his was 13 at most, but his shoulders were incredibly broad. Two centimeter horns, both ocean blue, extended from his head. Dusty blonde hair flowed down to his waist, and his noise had a ring on its right side.
"Sorry about those two. No matter what the school policy is, there is always bad ones. Seems these days there are more bad than good. Anyway, my names Ryle."
"Mine is Ciar. Thank you for your help, I don't think I could kill them yet." Ciar responded as he took Ryle's hand in a firm shake. Ryle's right eyebrow shot upwards, and his smile grew even wider.
"Kill them? You can't do something like that here or you'll be expelled. Best you can do it beat them up a bit in the arena."
Ciar frowned before asking Ryle, "Why did you help me? It really didn't benefit you any."
"Ah, I just can't stand seeing people with 'power' abuse weaker people. My sister was abused by people with 'power,' so I make it a point to stop it whenever I can. Besides, I come from a low ranking noble family and joined the academy at age 10, so I've experienced my fair share of bullying. In fact, those very two, Kennon and Jayle, both bullied me my first year until I got strong enough to best them." He responded, his smile losing a bit of its radiance.
"Oh, thanks. I'm a new student, if you wouldn't mind, could you explain how these things work? Felix never said anything." Ciar said, pointing to the weights behind him. Ryle once again raised an eyebrow when Ciar said 'Felix,' but answered Ciar's question.
"These weights are basically just lumps of iron with handles enchanted with gravity magic of differing strength. You can use them while training to increase your strength faster." Seeing realization and excitement begin to appear on Ciar's face, Ryle smiled even wider, speaking again.
"Tell ya what, why don't you come with me over to the restaurant and we can talk about things "Felix" failed to mention. You can start training tomorrow."
Ciar nodded, and followed Ryle out of the training room. He wasn't sure why he like the boy, but something about his attitude just drew him too him. The restaurant was a small part of the ground floor. Three tables sat outside the counter, and several chairs were placed beside the bar. In the kitchen, several chefs were hard at work cooking for the few students who were awaiting orders. Taking a seat at one of the tables, Ryle started the conversation.
"So first, I'm guessing your class list didn't come with descriptions? I know mine didn't, nobody told me and I went into my classes not knowing a thing about them besides the name."
"Yeah, they just gave me a list and said pick." Ciar responded.
"Would you mind telling me your classes? I know the basics about most of them, so you can go in a bit more informed."
Ciar nodded and listed of his classes. As he spoke, Ryle's eyes grew wider and wider. After Ciar finished, Ryle sat back, sighing.
"I should have expected classes like that seeing your age. You got some classes in there that are very rarely taken, even by third year students. Besides, I've never even heard of Lost Arts."
"It had a note beside it that said something like 'Director Recommended' or something. I figured it was as special class so I took it."
"Yeah....I don't know much about that but I can give you a run down on your other classes. Basic Alchemy, Engineering, and Poisons are exactly what they sound like. Poisons goes great with Alchemy because you can apply the things you learn in Alchemy straight to Poisons. Basic Weapon Training will present you with a wide selection of weapons. After you have chosen one you want, you will start basic training with that weapon. A lot of faculty work that room due to the diversity of techniques taught. Since you are taking Body Training, you won't really need to use the training room outside of class. They work you hard in there, but everything is tailored to your age and build, so it shouldn't be to bad. As for your magic classes, I haven't taken any of them, so I couldn't tell you much. I specialize in melee combat and water magic, so sorry about that."
After the brief explanation of his classes, Ciar chatted with Ryle for the rest of the evening. He slowly grew closer to the boy, drawn to him by his courtesy and positive aura. Soon, however, the boys were forced to return to there rooms in order to get a good nights sleep. As they were leaving, Ryle spoke tentatively to Ciar.
"If you don't mind me asking, I don't' mind you being 8, you seem mature enough, but why is everything about you so gray? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to its just..."
"It has something to do with my magic," Ciar responded, not completely answering, "that's also why my classes are weird." After finishing his answer, Ciar hurried off, not wanting to be interrogated by his new friend about his magic. He knew that if Ryle knew he was "void-touched," the boy would talk. Sure, he might put things together eventually, as legends about "void-touched" were well known, but Ciar wanted to delay that as long as possible. He knew that his power would eventually become public knowledge, but he wanted to enjoy his days at Lunaris as long as possible. Back in his room, Ciar quickly fell asleep on the large bed. He had an orientation to attend tomorrow, and he was looking forward to it.