This was the part Jacob had been dreading the most. His father had plenty of cautionary tales about school dormitories and "why you will be staying at home for university, Jacob." Parties, drugs, alcohol, general tomfoolery and roughhousing. His hands sweated. Not to mention just sharing your room with an entirely different person. Ugh, that was at the top of his long list of things he didn't envy about people with siblings. But here he didn't get to choose who he lived with. It could be some random weirdo, or a snorer, or a loud partier, or...

Faint laughter drifted down the hallway, followed by a random screech that sounded like it came from the floor above. Harrison Hall was oddly loud, even though it was seven in the evening. Claire and he had passed a bunch of dorm rooms with their doors open where people were already gathered, probably plotting that general tomfoolery. He knew the people he'd seen and could hear in the rooms around him were his classmates, but right then he was surrounded by strangers. Magical strangers who seemed to be making a lot of noise. He wondered if Schumann Hall was this loud.

Jacob took a deep breath. If his roommate was weird he'd just have to deal with it. It wasn't that big of a deal. And maybe they were out right now, in one of those other rooms.

He slotted the key Claire had given him into the door and turned the handle. The room was cramped. Two single beds separated by a couple of feet. A tiny table and a single chair at the foot of each. One window on the back wall, and a tiny cabinet for clothing and personal items. The walls were covered in a scene out of a forest. Crickets chirped and wind rustled through leafy deciduous trees. It must have been the same spell in the Refuge and on the walls of the Vanderbilt Building. Jacob wasn't surprised in the least, it was getting to be an old trick, but he was pleased.

However, cutting through that pleasure like a cutlass was the realization that his roommate was in the room.

The guy lay on his bed, reading a book, one arm tucked up beneath his head. His feet and half his shins hung off the end of the bed.

He smiled as Jacob entered, tossed his book on the bed and sprung to his feet. Jacob was about average height, but the guy was at least half a foot taller than him, long, gaunt, almost skeletal, with a big beak of a nose, gleaming green eyes and a mop of blonde hair.

"Ay, you must be my roommate!" The guy grinned. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Blake McGinnis."

"Uh... Jacob Caibo." Jacob stuck his hand out in an automated response.

Blake took it and shook vigorously. "Where you from, Jacob? Do you prefer Jacob, Jake, Jay?"

"Jacob is fine. I'm from-"

"Good, Blake and Jake sounds a little stupid, doesn't it?"

Jacob nodded.

"Didn't mean to cut you off, bud, I'm just a little excited. My bad." Blake ran a hand through his mop of hair and shrugged his bony shoulders.

"That's okay. I'm from Vancouver."

"Oh, like in Canada? Oh sweet. A Canuck, eh? I'm just kidding ya. I'm from Boston myself. Anyway, don't let me stop ya getting settled in." He plopped back down on his bed, crooked his arm above his head, and flipped his book open with one hand.

Jacob's bags had been left at the foot of the bed on the left. He started the agonizing procedure of unpacking in the cramped space with Blake watching him. Christ, but it was unnerving doing something with someone just there in the room with him. Just made his heart beat faster and made him want to look over his shoulder constantly. How was he ever going to study in here, let alone sleep?

"Oh, hope you didn't want this bed." Blake blurted. "I took it because I sleep on my left side and I like facing the wall."

Jacob did the same and would have taken that bed if he'd gotten there first, but he shrugged. "I'm okay."

"Oh and hope you don't mind the memograph. I can change it if you want."

"Memograph?"

"The one playing on the walls right now." Blake frowned.

Jacob eyed the peaceful forest scenery. "No, it's fine." Actually, it was quite nice.

Blake nodded and went back to his book.

Jacob finished unpacking and plopped down on his bed with a sigh. It was just past eight, but honestly, if he laid down he could probably fall asleep. He was hoping he wouldn't have nightmares about the rogue mage chasing him tonight. Last night he'd barely gotten any sleep because he'd kept waking up from dreams where he kept looking over his shoulder. He could feel the rogue mage behind him, hidden, a presence in his mind. He shivered.

Was travelling always this exhausting? How in the hell did people do this for fun? Classes started at 8:30 am tomorrow. It probably was the smart thing to go to sleep right then and there. It was what he wanted to do.

But the mature thing to do would be to say something to Blake, make conversation, even if it was stupid. If he was going to spend every night for the next four months in the same room as the guy, the right thing to do would be to get to know him a little, right? And if the guy was sitting on his bed reading a book on the first night of being here he couldn't be a juvenile delinquent.

"What are you reading?" Jacob asked.

Blake showed Jacob the cover. "The Dynasian Reality. Don't worry, I'm not some radical terrorist, or anything. Not that I really think Paul Zoltan was a terrorist himself, nor advocating for what the Sons have become."

Jacob blinked. "What?"

Blake frowned, "What do you mean, what?"

"I don't know who that is."

"Paul Zoltan?"

"Yes."

Blake sat up slowly, eyeing Jacob as if he'd spotted a colourful species of fish, "Wrote this." He slapped the book against his palm "Founded the Sons of Dynas? Pretty controversial magical philosopher? Not ringing a bell?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"I've heard of the Sons of Dynas." Sheriff Hueller had mentioned them when they were looking for the rogue mage. "But I don't know what they are."

"Okay... Do you know who Arthur Dynas is?"

Jacob vaguely remembered hearing the name. "Not really."

"What... Wait a minute. Are you not from a magical family?"

"No."

"Oh, wow!" Blake looked surprised. "How'd you find out about magic?"

The Dream Tiger. The rogue mage. Jimmy. He'd tried not to think about it over the past few days. Every time he did he couldn't believe Jimmy was dead. Like it had been a nightmare. But every time reality would kick in and make him anxious and cry. It was better not to think about it. Jacob shifted. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Blake watched him intently, then nodded. "That's cool, bud. No worries. I get it. I... Jeez, man. Can't imagine what it's like just jumping into this. If you need anything just lemme know, 'kay?"

Jacob nodded.

"But you really don't know who Arthur Dynas is?"

Jacob shook his head.

"He's considered the founder of the Regulation Order. I think we'll cover it in class this term, but basically in the mid-1800s he wrote this collection of essays called Magic in the Modern World that predicted how the drastic increase in population and urban centre density caused by the Industrial Revolution would upset the equilibrium between the two realms, and in response would exponentially increase the frequency of crossovers and the power levels of the magical creatures. He predicted that individual local mages would no longer be enough to handle this and if the magical community wanted to avoid a total societal collapse they needed a standardized system and corp to handle the crossovers." Blake gestured to the room around them. "Thus, the Regulation Order. About fifty years later Paul Zoltan wrote this thing, The Dynasian Reality, which was basically an alternate interpretation of Dynas's ideas that went against how the Regulation Order interpreted them. Zoltan's writings spawned the Sons of Dynas, which have become basically a major magical terrorist group that tries to thwart and destroy the Order."

"They have a symbol of some kind? Like two circles with a lightning bolt through them?"

"Yeah man, how you know that?"

Jacob shrugged.

"Anyway, this book is technically banned by the Regulation Order, but you can read it if you want when I'm done. It really is an interesting read, but maybe you should start with Dynas's writings. They'll probably go over it in class. Snore."

"Okay." Banned books? Well, maybe he had gotten a crazy roommate.

"You probably think I'm crazy."

Jacob blushed. "What? No, I..."

"It's all good, bud. Most people will tell me I'm being stupid, that this book is dangerous, it's illegal, blah blah blah. But like, banning books? Talk about Orwellian. That went out of style in the seventies. Freedom of Speech, am I right? Only thing you're doing by limiting what people can read is making them more narrow-minded and ignorant. Like look at you, some guy from the Sons could come up to you and recruit you and you wouldn't know the second thing about him. You gotta have knowledge. That's the only thing that will let you be able to make the right decision, not the decision you've been told is right. That's fair, right?"

"I guess. Banning books does seem weird."

"Otherwise you're just forcing your own doctrine down peoples' throats. I don't know. Sorry, didn't mean to get all political on you first night." Blake shifted uncomfortably. He looked embarrassed. "I swear I'm not crazy."

Jacob couldn't exactly judge the guy. He had his own court date with the Regulation Order Council in less than six months. If Blake was crazy for reading a banned book, then what was he for breaking the laws, regardless of the context? "Well... To be honest with you, knowing there's magic in the world makes me think a book can't be that bad."

Blake laughed. "Fair enough. Also, as much as I don't like books or spells or anything being banned, they will probably expel me, or at least suspend me if they find me reading this, so I'd appreciate it if you kept this all on the down low. My mom will kill me if I get expelled."

"Sure. Is your mom a Ranger?"

"No. Neither of my parents are. My dad is a logistics officer for the Order, and my mom is a nurse. What about your parents? What do they do?"

"My mom's a teacher and my dad is an accountant," Jacob said. "But wait, is your mom like a regular nurse? Can she use magic?"

Blake chuckled. "Okay, I can see how that might be confusing to someone like you. She can, and she works for the Order. Heals Rangers. Both my parents have just enough magical talent that they got noticed and had to come to the Academy, but not enough to be a Ranger. Tough luck, isn't it? My father actually really wanted to be a Seasonal Ranger, which is basically a part-timer who covers for others when they're sick or on vacation." Blake grimaced. "But he just never quite cut it."

"I'm sorry," Jacob said.

"Nah, it's all good, bud. I guess I should be thankful that he didn't, because he was around more to raise me and my sisters, which he says was the best thing he ever did, but I think he really regrets not achieving that. He'd always talk about it to me." He tapped the book on his palm again. "That's why I read, bud. Knowledge is power. I know I'm a lightweight when it comes to magical strength, but there's nothing you can do about what you're born with, is there? That's why you gotta learn. It's the only thing you can really control. My only shot at becoming a Ranger is if I know as much magic as possible. And I'll be damned if I pass it up." Blake sighed. "What about you man? You've let me talk your ear off all night. You wanna be a Ranger?"

Jacob frowned. Did he? He hadn't really had a chance to think about what he wanted to do with magic. His plan had always been to go to university to be an ecologist, or something in that area, but what about magic? Where did it fit in there? Could he be a magical ecologist? Being in that other world had been pretty cool once you got past the terror. Was there such a thing?

"I don't know." He said. "I really only just discovered magic like a week ago."

"Wow, greener than a blade of grass." Blake's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, no pressure man. You don't have to decide what you want to do for a while. But yeah, as I said, if you got any questions, I'll be happy to help you out, but if we get matched up in the tournament, don't expect me to go easy."

Claire had mentioned a tournament when they'd passed the Tisdale Stadium. "Wait, there's a tournament?"

Blake grinned. "Oh, buddy, you think a magical academy wouldn't put a bunch of teenagers with newly discovered powers in duels against each other? How else they gonna judge our fighting abilities? What do you think this is, public school? The tournament runs for the whole term. First matches are at the end of the month."

Jacob groaned. What if he had to fight Camilla? He'd get burnt to a cinder in seconds. What if everyone at the Academy was that strong? Well, on the one hand, he probably had more experience in real fights than most of them. But on the other hand, he knew literally zilch about magic.

"Speaking of which." Blake slipped The Dynasian Reality beneath his pillow and got up and stretched. His hands brushed the ceiling. "It's time to hit the library, get studying. I'll see ya later, bud."

"See you."

Blake left.

The moment Blake shut the door behind him the serene forest memograph faded to plain walls. Then a new picture slowly emerged. A tall, familiar bookshelf, walls covered in anime posters. His room back home.

Jacob took off his socks and slipped into the covers of his bed, a faint smile on his face.

Did he want to be a Ranger? Really? He didn't know. It was such a daunting question. How could he have it all figured out now? Everything was happening so fast he could only just barely stay afloat.

Jacob did know he hated being totally lost when it came to magic and magical history and the magical world. Sitting around like a dunce not knowing anything. And if Blake and Camilla were any judge, he had a lot of work to do to catch up to them. And if he wanted to be able to protect himself and not be powerless against a threat like that rogue mage. What then? If he didn't want people like Jimmy giving their lives, dying, to protect him just because he was helpless. How far did he have to go? How much did he have to learn?

In his mind's eye, the rogue mage's fist ripped through Jimmy's torso, spraying blood.

Jacob rolled over and faced the wall and wiped his eyes. Christ, if Blake walked in right now he would just pack up and leave he'd be so embarrassed. He tried to stop, but he couldn't stop thinking about the fight, about Jimmy. He was dead. Dead. All because he'd been protecting Jacob.

As nice as Blake had been, in that moment Jacob hated having to share a room with him. He wished he was home in his own bed, by himself. He wished he'd never come. Christ, he hadn't even been away a day and here he was, crying and missing home. He was such a baby. Such a useless, weak baby.