Surprisingly, the outside of the guild didn’t do justice to how appealing the inside was. The ground floor was small. Barely large enough to contain four tables which themselves could only seat about ten people each. The walls were decorated with cream wallpaper that reminded me of the sandstone buildings back home. Even the intricate patterns that covered the paper were similar to the symbols scattered across all the structures there. At the end of the hall was what I assumed was a bar – though no one was attending it at the moment – and further beyond that was the staircase leading to the first floor. Though the hall was empty it was clear that this shouldn’t be the case. Mugs of mead had been left half empty and platters of various exotic foods were strewn across the tables; uneaten. “Hello?” I asked the silence. Nothing. I began to walk towards the staircase to see if anyone was upstairs but was momentarily obstructed when one of the plates, barely clinging onto the table, fell to the floor. It fell with such a clatter that I would be shocked if the droves of people outside hadn’t heard the crash. Nothing still. Where in the world was everyone? While cleaning up my mess – picking chicken bones from between the floorboards was not how I thought I’d be spending my day – I felt a tap on my shoulder. Spinning on the balls of my feet I turned in order to meet my new acquaintance. “Oh uh….” Again, I was met by only silence. I scratched my head in confusion. Something was definitely wrong. I ceased all movements – only moving every so often for a breath – trying to sense if someone or something was nearby. Ever since my magic had developed everything seemed more... sensitive to me, as if all my senses were more focussed, like a magnifying glass under the Sun I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary that much was clear, just the usual floating chandeliers and self-stacking bookshelves, and could only hear my own thumping heart-beat. The air smelt and tasted how you would expect a place with a bar to smell, like alcohol, only in one area of the room the smell was much more pungent. Following the trail to its conclusion led me to under one of the four tables and I crouched down to confront the prankster. To my surprise, I was met with the face of an older man, appearing to be in his late twenties, staring back at me. His face was half shaven, as if during the process he’d became bored and began to do something else, and his blond hair lay shaggy and uneven. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had cut it himself. His grin was wide like a demon’s though that was where the comparisons ended. “Damn you were quick!” He exclaimed, laughing through his yellowing teeth. “That trick even took Melody a while to figure out!” Suddenly, the man was gone. He just vanished, leaving no trace. I felt another tap on my shoulder but thankfully when I turned to meet the culprit I was greeted by an actual face this time, as unpleasant as it was. “I’m rather impressed,” He extended a long arm out towards me and I stood up straight, my nose barely reaching the tip of his chin. “Loki.” He said. Hesitantly, I shook his hand though my grip was weak and flimsy. He took notice of this and his expression changed. “Hey, don’t worry, I’m just messing with you. Welcome to the guild! Well actually that’s not my decision but that’s cause I’m too easy to please!”

“As you can see,” He gestured towards his clothes. A typical waiter’s uniform with an apron wrapped around his waist and a matching black tie and waist coat. “I am the bartender here.” That explained the smell at least. “If you’re looking for the rest of our members they’re upstairs. There’s another new recruit that required their full attention…” He paused mid-sentence, staring off into space before hitting himself on the head, like it was a punishment for forgetting something that he had been explicitly told not to forget. His eyes grew wide and he leaned in close, his breath reeking of booze. “You are here to join right?” I nodded in reply. My lips failing to move and formulate the various sentences I had in my head. Damn nerves. “Great!” He exclaimed, before again vanishing into nothing. He reappeared at the top of the staircase and smiled, gesturing for me to follow.

***

I could tell why they had Loki be the first face you see when you walk in. Though it may not be the prettiest to look at, he produced a welcoming aura familiar to everyone in the world no matter where they’re from. His smile was a warm smile that you only find once in a lifetime and once you do, it instils you with the faith that everything will be okay. It reminds you of your safe haven. Of family. Of home. Just the thing that both avid adventurers and those leaving home for the first time need. A reminder that they are safe and welcome. Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Loki placed one hand on my shoulder and the other on the golden door knob attached to one of the many doors that inhabited the upper floor. “Alright.” He said, looking down at me with his cocoa coloured eyes. “Don’t be nervous. I’ll do most of the talking. Just don’t touch anything and don’t ask any stupid questions. Oh! And uh…” He leaned in close. I could feel his heavy breathing in my ear. “Don’t touch the Master’s staff when she tells you to. It’s a test.” Although it didn’t seem fair for Loki to help me cheat on this so-called test all help was appreciated. Twisting the knob, we headed into the Master’s Office.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The office looked just like any other stereotypical office. Stacks of worksheets and books were dotted around the room, all of which were over a meter high and precariously balancing on the line between being stable and collapsing completely. A large wooden throne like chair lay behind a run of the mill desk which had your usual run of the mill stationary sat atop it. In fact the only thing out of the ordinary was the amount of people who had filed into this one tiny room. I counted four people, all surrounding something in the centre of the tome towers. Not something but rather someone. A young girl stood in the middle of the group, the only colour in her face being the red emanating from her rosy cheeks. That made it five. She was small in everyway imaginable. Her snow-white hair was extremely short – just touching the top of the white scarf tied around her neck - and her eyes only just met the neck of the next smallest member in the circle. I wondered what the two of them looked like next to Loki. Her clothes were as white as the rest of her but occasionally contained tinges of blue like they were made of crystals. A smidgen of a smile was visible from beneath her scarf; though it was less pleased and more embarrassed. A silent cry for help. However, that was strange as none of the faces staring at her looked malicious, simply curious. “Master,” Loki said, his booming voice echoing around the room, “We’ve got another new recruit!” All at once their heads rotated towards me – except the girl’s as she stood frozen – and I received a forceful shove from Loki, causing me to stumble forward until I too was in the circle of shame. I glanced towards the girl but if she saw me out of the corner of her eye she gave no hint of it, instead choosing to simply stare at the ground and hang her head. The group circled us, like vultures around a dying animal, not acting just observing. Finally, one of them broke the silence. “The girl’s adorable!” This did nothing to aid the situation as it only further embarrassed the poor girl next to me, who was now clutching her scarf in mortification. From this one statement erupted a tsunami of speech, with two of the remaining members battling it out with the each other for supremacy. “Nice going Mel…”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything! I was just...”

“You were just what? Just saying? Typical…”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

The girl – Mel – took a step closer to her opponent, allowing me to have a closer look at her. She was gorgeous. Her face was perfectly symmetrical save from a singular freckle above the left side of her luscious lilac lips which perfectly complimented her barely visible purple dress which itself was concealed by a magenta raincoat. Her eyes were strange, shifting between a pale blue and a bright green, like the sea. She walked with grace and purpose and carried a tremendous amount of vitality in her visage. Her sandy blonde hair flowing behind her with every step. A kite in the wind. She stormed up to the man across from her, that once beautiful face now stretched into a scowl, and placed the tip of her umbrella (a matching set with the coat and wellies) against the tip of his chin. The man was unfazed. Unfazed until a small smirk emerged onto his face. Calmly, he placed on finger against the umbrella and slowly pushed it aside before taking a step towards Mel. He towered over her; a mountain against a molehill. In appearance he seemed very similar to Loki, if Loki actually gave a damn. His blond hair was combed back – not a single hair out of place - and his bright white teeth gleamed in stark contrast to Loki’s, both in terms of look and the impression it gave. While Loki looked like a waiter this man looked like someone a waiter would be thankful to work for; with his garish yellow suit and shining black shoes adding to his aristocratic appearance. He seemed to look down upon Mel, as if he too realised how silly it was to be threatened by a petite girl with a bright pink umbrella. However, the strange thing was that he was the only other person who seemed to feel this way as everyone else’s faces were stoic and serious. Even Loki’s unbeatable grin had faded. “You know what,” said the blond haired boy, looking down at Mel and grinning a devilish grin, “I bet you couldn’t do it, not even for a second. You lack the nerve.” He stared at her intensely, his eyes daring her to make a move, silently egging her on, attempting to push her over the edge. For a moment, Mel held her resolve but you could see behind her own eyes that she didn’t have it in her to go any further. She lowered her umbrella. “Tsk. Knew it.” The blond haired boy pushed past Mel, who had retreated back to her original position, her head held in shame like the crystal girl beside me. He began to make his way towards the door, giving no indication that I even existed in his world, only to be stopped by Loki. The blond haired boy was the only person in the room (perhaps even the whole town) that came close to rivalling Loki’s height though he missed out by a hair. Loki placed a hand on his shoulder, the barman’s eyes fixated on the man’s face. “You sure about this?” asked Loki, as if this event was inevitable. Without a word, the man brushed off Loki’s hand and exited the room, lacking the courtesy to even close the door. “I apologise for you having to see that,” I turned to face a woman, who had remained silent and unnoticeable for the entirety of the conflict, sitting on top of the run of the mill desk, her legs crossed over each other in a relaxed double helix fashion. A gnarled wooden staff sat comfortably across her lap. “He can be difficult to manage don’t worry,” She clapped her hands together and tilted her head, smiling a toothless smile and shutting her eyes. “Welcome to our Order!”