The morning after, the sun woke him up, casting bright rays on the bed of the room. Ardwyn rubbed his eyes and wondered how long he had been sleeping when a loud knock came on his door.

“Yes?” he said, walking up to the door. “Who is it?”

“Flynn Emberforge,” the voice said, as if Ardwyn was supposed to know who that was.

Ardwyn opened the heavy door to be greeted by a figure of student dressed in mage robs, similar to the ones he had encountered last night in the dining hall. The young man standing in the doorstep was about the same age as Ardwyn. His presence seemed to fill the corridor with a palpable energy. He was tall, and broad-shouldered, with dark black hair, that was unbrushed, and looked like he had just woken up. His skin was tanned, as if he’d had spent long hours working under the sun.

With a crooked grin on his face, he outstretched his hand towards Ardwyn. “Name is Flynn Emberforge. Year one,” he said. “And what is your name?”

Ardwyn shook his hand. “Ardwyn,” he said. “I’m considering trying out for the Academy.”

“Interesting,” Flynn said, and walked right past him not seeming to mind him. “They’ve assigned me this room. 1B. This is 1B, isn’t it?”

“I guess so,” Ardwyn said. “I’m new here. Where did you get the mage robes from?”

Flynn turned back to him, and looked up and down his clothes. “The Academy will provide you with mage clothes. I myself am from a farm toward the South. Never had clothes like these myself.” He said, and looked down on his robe. He brushed off any signs of dust specs from both arms. “Pretty nice robe, ain’t it?”

Before Ardwyn could speak, Flynn was back to inspecting the room, especially the closet. He sat down his heavy bag in the corner of the closet.

Flynn walked up to the windows. “Rather nice view here. I think I’ll mighty enjoy this place for the term.” He turned to Ardwyn and said proudly, “I’m the first of my family to attend. Father’s a blacksmith. He’s only heard tales of the Academy. Never knew anyone personally to attend. ‘Bout you?” Flynn asked. “Where you from?”

Ardwyn was starting to notice a pattern of everyone asking where he was from. “From another realm,” he said.

“Typical,” Flynn said. “Mages travel through portals within the realm. Eager to try a portal myself. Never been through one. How’s it feel?”

“Warm. Vibrant,” Ardwyn said. Flynn had a sort of naive curiosity that seemed friendly.

“Oh, yeah?” Flynn said. “I heard that in year two they teach you how to open portals. Will be a lot easier to travel home.”

Flynn froze. He stared into the corner of the room. “Are those —”, he said with a shallow breath. “Are those Ethereal Blossoms?”

“Yes—,“ Ardwyn said, and looked back on the potted flowers.

“Where did you get those from?” Flynn asked in excitement.

Ardwyn said, “A woman at the town market gave them to me.”

“Do you know how rare those are? I would give anything to have some. They are said to increase your affinity for mana. Can I see them up close?”

“Sure,” Ardwyn said.

“Fascinating,” Flynn said picking up the potted plant, and then rotated it in the sunlight. The flowers sparkled, and the petals gave off a shimmering, glowing warmth.

“How did you hear about them?” Ardwyn asked curiously.

“Everyone knows about Ethereal Blossoms,” Flynn said, “At least every aspiring mage has heard about them. They are said to blossom once every hundred years or so on the side of a mountain. Anyone who can get a hold of Ethereal Blossoms can get an immediate boost in mana. You don’t mind if I hold these for a little while longer, do you?”

“Not at all,” Ardwyn said. “Go ahead.”

As Flynn moved his head in closer to examine the flowers, his eyes fixed on the shimmering petals, Ardwyn wondered how come the herbalist in the market had given them to him so easily if the flowers were this valuable.

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“You know,” Flynn said, his eyes still focused on the flowers, “there are stories of mages who have spent their entire lives searching for the Ethereal Blossoms. And here you come along, stumbling about upon them.” He laughed loudly, a hearty sound filling the small you room. “You must have the luck of the ancient mages themselves!”

“I still don’t understand what makes them so special,” Ardwyn said.

Flynn carefully set the pot back down, his fingers lingering on the leaves for a moment longer. “Well, my friend, you’d better keep them close. There are plenty of folks who’d do just about anything to get their hands on the Ethereal Blossoms.”

Before Ardwyn could respond, a knock came on the door.

“Yes?” Ardwyn called back to the door.

“Staff,” the voice said.

Ardwyn opened the door to see a short stout man standing in the doorway. He wore a crisp, dark uniform adorned with the Academy’s crest, and carried a clipboard under one arm. His neatly trimmed mustache twitched as he glanced between them.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said, his voice surprisingly deep for his small stature. “I’m Mr. Gimble, the dormitory steward. I’m here to ensure you have everything you need for the upcoming week.

Mr. Gimble’s eyes narrowed as he consulted his clipboard. “Now, let’s see… This is room 1B, correct?” He looked up at Flynn. “You must be… Flynn?”

Flynn nodded.

“And you, who might you be?” Mr. Gimble said, looking down confusingly at his clipboard as he searched through the roster of names. “There seems to be just one occupant assigned to room 1B.”

“I’m trying out for the Academy,” Ardwyn said, with not a lot of confidence. What he meant was that he was considering trying out for the Academy, but perhaps that would not have been the best thing to say under the circumstances. “Elara, a professor here, said I’d be okay to stay in this room.”

“I see,” Mr. Gimble said. “Very well then.” He frowned, momentarily scratching his head. He didn’t seem to be too happy about something on his mind.

Mr. Gimble grunted, and then continued in a serious tone, “Of course, provided that are you accepted into the Academy, we will need to get you fitted right away for a new uniform. You’ll need your textbooks as well. Quills, parchment paper, potion ingredients…”

He continued muttering to himself, jotting down notes. He checked his pocket watch and let out a frustrated sigh. “I really do strongly dislike these last minute preparations. A student should already be well prepared by the weekend before the start of classes.”

Ardwyn stood there, not quite knowing what to say.

Mr. Gimble let out another groan. “Right then, I’d better get going. The Quartermaster will have my hide if I’m late.”

Mr. Gimble turned on his heel, continuing to mutter to himself under his breath as he walked out the door.

After a few moments passed, and Mr. Gimble was well on his way, Flynn said, “A curious fellow, ain’t he? He gave me plenty of grief earlier when I forgot my uniform and needed a new one, especially that I couldn’t buy another one outside of my stipend. He was kind of enough to put this robe on lend.” Flynn looked down at his robe admiring the fabric in the daylight.

Ardwyn nodded, still a bit overwhelmed by Mr. Gimble’s brisk manner. “He certainly seems… efficient,” Ardwyn said.

Flynn chuckled. “That’s one way to put it.”

Ardwyn’s gaze drifted back to the Ethereal Blossoms, sitting there on the shelf. “I guess I should figure out what to do with these.”

Flynn’s eyes lit up again. “You know, I could help you out. I could show you how to properly care for them.”

Ardwyn nodded at the idea.

“First things first,” Flynn said, “Ethereal Blossoms like indirect sunlight. The soil should be probably watered at least twice a day —- well, actually let me look that up.” He scratched his head. “Have you been to the Academy library yet?”

“No,” Ardwyn said.

Flynn’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before. The library has a wide collection of magical knowledge that spans centuries!”

“Can we go there now?” Ardwyn asked.

Flynn grinned. “No time like the present. Besides, we should probably get going to look up proper care for the Ethereal Blossoms before they start wilting or something.”

As they left the room, Ardwyn carefully placed the Ethereal Blossoms in the closet, hidden away from the sunlight, just like Flynn advised. There they were also hidden from any prodding eyes just to be safe while they were gone.

They walked down the school corridors, with students in school uniformed robes passing them, some giving curious glances, noticing Ardwyn’s casual attire.

“So, the library,” Flynn began, gesturing animatedly as they walked, “it’s one of the oldest parts of the Academy. There are sections for every magical discipline you could imagine.”

They rounded a corner and came face to face with a pair of enormous oak doors with intricately carved scenes of magical creatures and arcane symbols. Flynn pushed the doors open with a grunt.

“Welcome,” he said dramatically, “to the heart of magical knowledge!”

Ardwyn’s jaw dropped as they stepped inside. The library was vast, with high shelves lined with books as far as he could see. The shelves seemed to reach endlessly upward. Globes of soft, magical light floated near the ceiling, illuminating the space with a warm glow. Students sat at long tables and poured over ancient tomes, scribbling notes with quills.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Flynn said, grinning at Ardwyn’s awestruck expression. “Now, let’s see if we can find something about the proper care for Ethereal Blossoms.”

They made their way deeper into the library, row by row of tall shelves surrounding them. For a moment they seemed to have lost their way in the giant library.

“Uh,” Flynn said. “This way”, he pointed to the right. Flynn didn’t seem confident.

They walked down a bookshelf with a series of thick dark leather bound books that were arranged neatly side by side. As they came out on the other side a voice called “Hey!”, in a soft but shouting manner. “Hey!” the voice said again as Ardwyn tried to figure out where the voice was coming from.