I’m told I need to head towards the southern entrance, but instead of a door, I come up to a huge tunnel filled to the brim with students. The walls are a dark limestone that makes the tunnel look older than anyone here, I can barely see the desk to sign in to.

We wait in two lines that are barely moving forward, I stride ahead when someone steps on the back of my heels sending me flying forward into the back of the girl in front of me. She turns, grabbing me by the shoulders to keep me upright, she takes one look at my face and starts laughing.

“I’m so sorry,” I burst out laughing with her, watching as her smile reaches her eyes. “That’s one way to make an entrance.” Her smile never falters. She brushes a lock of her dark blonde hair out of her face.

“I’m Eloise, hopefully, I’m memorable enough to remember.” I take in her appearance, she’s wearing fighting leather, which means she must be one of the fighting Myths. She could potentially be a Dragon or Elf Myth, but either way, she is breathtaking. Her ocean-blue eyes stand out against her slightly tan skin. She wears her hair in a loose bun on the top of her head, with only a couple strands of blonde hair hanging around her face.

“I’ll remember. Most people call me Scarlett, where are you from?” She tilts her head to the side showing me a rosy birthmark attached to her neck.

The line moves forward, I hear people shuffling their feet against the cold cobblestone floor.

“I’ve lived in Akria all my life.”

I think I’ll miss Akira more than I ever have. I’ll miss the sun beaming off my face, the red canyons sparkling in the late afternoon sun, and sitting outside eating dinner with my family every Sunday.

“Akira is beautiful, I call it home too! It’s charming, but this place screams of magic!” She squeals, looking around excitedly.

Her eyes scan my body, taking in my blond hair that hangs loosely over my shoulders probably in a tangled mess.

“ Emma Tailor.” The front desk yells for all to hear. The line edges closer to the table.

“I don’t believe I’ve met you before, you can’t be a Dragon, can you?” Lucinda raises a brow in question.

Most Dragons train together considering Akira is among the smaller realms. They train, fight and learn together, I’m not close enough to a Dragon to be considered a fighting Myth, I never have gotten the chance to fight with them.

I always watched them, I watched as they would soar high in the sky, rushing through clouds as they began their training.

“No, not a Dragon.” I smile shyly, I would rather people not know I’m of the Phoenix Myth, not just yet. I narrowly avoid her question when the line moves again and it’s Scarlett's name they call this time.

“See ya soon Eloise.” She skips away, looking rather excited to be assigned a room.

Although Dragons and Phoenixes seem similar, they couldn’t be more opposite. Dragons are beyond powerful, they are considered one of the Myths that possess the most power, while Phoenixes are on the lower end of the scale. I don’t nearly have enough power to be in a fighting legion, let alone be trained in one.

My set ability is I can heal others, but only for a short amount of time. Although Phoenixes are famous for their power to be reborn, it can only happen once, and it is strictly forbidden until I’m out of University. So at this moment, I’m quite literally useless, powerless.

“Eloise Solace!” An older-looking man with a beard is calling my name, he waits for me by the second table. I head over, brushing past the people awaiting their turn.

“Yeah, that’s me.” He skims his eyes over me, looking at the bag I’m currently carrying over my shoulder. I remove the bag placing it gently on the wooden table in front of me. He turfs out my clutter and begins his search.

“Clear,” he grunts, shoving the excess amount of stuff back into my tiny bag.

“You’re assigned to the southern quarters.” He hands out a key inscribed with the letter S.

“Next.” He dismisses me with a wave of his hand, clearly not bothered by anyone who steps in front of him.

I leave the table and head towards the southern entrance quarters. The tunnel is luminous with little fireflies bouncing off the walls, illuminating my way. Light suddenly seeps into the tunnel, making me walk faster to see where it’s coming from.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The tunnel opens up, revealing a massive courtyard with other stunned students. The walls are encased by vines with various colours, and the grass is long and luscious, making all the colours come together. The castle still has its pink glow, radiating onto the students below.

I look up, the sky is covered by excess amounts of stairways and paths. Each bridge appears to have a unique plant growing along the sides. The plants and vines hang off the bridges above, giving the illusion we’re in a greenhouse, not a school.

A voice booms down upon us, I see a lady dressed in all black lean over the pathways, “All southern students please head on up to your quarters.”

I look around, not seeing any possible way to make it up to the quarters unless–

“All students will fly, no exceptions,” the same voice says.

Other students have already taken their dragon and fae forms, but I look up, waiting for all to leave. Phoenixes are the only Myth that can transform part of themselves, while Dragons can only transform into their final form.

Once the majority of Myths leave, I step back getting closer to the walls of the courtyard. My wings burst out, leaving my back with a tingly sting. I see the remainder of the students glaring at my red wings, looking in awe and disgust.

At that thought I jump, I jump high into the sky feeling the brief breeze of wind flow past my face and through my clothes. Then it stops all too soon as I find the pathway beneath my feet. It’s covered in lush vibrant rhododendrons. I let my feet slowly fall towards the concrete pathway, I let my hand reach out, touching the beautiful flowers that are in front of me.

"Look around, these fellow students will be your squad,” the lady in black speaks, she stands in the middle of the circle with her arms crossed behind her.

“You may have noticed not all are your Myth. Most of you up here can fly, but there will be some who cannot. Those who cannot have been granted the spell of flight.”

“If you have any further questions please hesitate to ask, I’m not at your beck and call.” Without another word, she leaps off the bridge, but wings don’t come out, instead, she flies on her own.

What an odd way to greet us.

The Dragons make their shift back to human form, while everyone else stares in awe.

Everyone begins to disperse, looking for their rooms. I reach into my pocket fishing out the key inscribed with an S on it. I flip it over revealing the number 7, which I can only assume is my room number.

I head past multiple rooms, already filled with Myths of all kinds. I spot a couple of Witches pilled together, probably concocting their own flight potions or other deadly elixirs of their choosing.

I walk a little further spotting number 5 just ahead. I venture a little further across the pathways, taking little glimpses over the railings, overlooking the new Myths arriving. 6… I turn the corner, heading onto another bridge that leads me to one final room, 7.

I approach the building, the walls are still dark with colourful vines hanging low, but instead of its usual pink tone, an orange hue surrounds the door. Orange plants line the railings, one specifically speaks to me, a fire lily. These plants only come out after a fire has arisen. It’s the ash that comes from the fire that makes these plants blossom into something so breathtaking. Which makes it even more weird that it is in full bloom, on a bridge of all things.

I reach the golden doorknob, but I jump back in surprise. The handle has left the back of my hand stinging. I look down, noticing a small orange circle with a line through it has made its way onto the back of my hand.

“I see the handle has claimed you!” A familiar voice says from behind me.

I turn around seeing bright auburn hair flowing in the wind with a huge smile stretching across her face.

“Looks like we’re roommates!” Lucinda squeals, quickly pulling me into a hug. Her arms wrap around my shoulders as she reaches up to meet my height.

I step back reaching for the orange handle again–

Lucinda smacks my hand out of the way. She looks at me, clearly in disappointment. She touches the handle ever so slightly with her index finger outstretched.

“Fire Lily,” She repeats the phrase, but slightly more forceful; this time the door shifts. The dark wood door slides to the right, revealing the room I’m to stay in for the next year of my life.

The walls are bare, only the limestone shows through, showing just how old this room is. The floors are dark marble with sunset-coloured rugs, resembling the Fire Lilies that cover the outside of the dorm.

I walk down the small hallway leading into one giant room. The windows are from the floor to the roof, letting in endless amounts of light; I count four grid windows.

There are two beds on either side of the room. Both already have quilts on, one a light orange with frills lining the edges. The other has a cream-back splash with little orange flowers dotted around the quilt.

I stare at the room in awe. The room fits me perfectly, it’s everything I could have imagined and so much more. I walk over to the bed with orange flowers scattered across the quilt. I place my bag down, brushing my hands over the furniture.

“Looks like this one is mine,” Lucinda rushes over, placing her bag on the ground and flopping onto her cushy bed.

I take a seat on my new bed, feeling the fabric between my fingers. I never did get an answer to why she’s here.

“I thought you said you were headed to the northern entrance?” I purse my lips together, awaiting her answer.

She flicks her hair out of her face while slowly sitting up. She pauses before she speaks, carefully choosing her words, “I had to escort my brother to his room,” She dismisses my question without another word, clearly uninterested in my attempts at discussion.

“Anyways, here’s some more exciting news,” she pulls out a crumpled paper coloured in pastel pinks and blues, in bright white the words read ‘First Annual Ball’.

“It’s the first ball of the year!” She squeals, jumping up from her bed and rushing over to me.

Balls are often held here, there will be dancing, singing, and so much more. The Myths who attended have always said it’s one of the most magical nights of their lives. Everyone will be dressed in ball gowns of their chosen colour.

There will be balls throughout the season, but this one is the biggest. Many Myths believe it is to celebrate the new arrivals to Etheria, but it was originally held to initiate the start of the Rebirth season.

Rebirth is one of the most magical seasons in all of the world. An eclipse will happen for multiple weeks, causing the world to go dark, but the plant life goes wild. Most will be vibrant, acting as a source of sunlight.It’s not just the plant life that comes out, the wildlife also joins in. Whether it’s just little animals, or monsters we try to keep out, they all come out of hibernation for this season.

“Gosh, I have no idea what to wear,” Lucinda mumbles, rummaging through her suitcase, “We must go shopping tomorrow! We can get you a gorgeous gown as well,” A gown would be nice, I haven’t brought anything extravagant enough to even be let into the ballroom.

“I’d love to, but where can we even go?” Lucinda smiles, she clearly already has a plan in the works.

“You are friends with a royal after all.”