I really didn’t get it.

Radials were at my hands, glowing a soft red and with rotating rings. The intricate symbols and lines within them were cluttered, crashing into each other like a discordant machine.

Frowning, I quickly conjured the rune for stable followed by light, leaning into the back of my chair.

Ideally, a glowing ball of pure light would appear in my hand, only unconjured whenever I let go. It would blaze brightly, like the evening sun. It should blaze brightly.

But it didn’t.

Instead, a weakened flickering orb of light slowly materialized in my palm, connected by the tiniest sliver to my skin. It honestly looked like a dying animal, hanging to whatever threads of life it still had. So I put it down.

I watched it fall to the ground in front of my seated legs with blank eyes behind my opaque thaumaturgical goggles, the ball fading into sparks. They disappeared along with the mutilated light I’d made.

“You’ll get it eventually,” Renaud smiled behind me, sitting on his bed on his side of the dorm.

I stood up, turning back to him, plastering a grin on my face, “Of course I’ll get it. I’ve got Chapuis blood, so it’s basically inevitable.”

Blood of criminals, that is.

“That’s the spirit! You’ll probably even surpass me someday, with such a strong lineage on your side,” Renaud chuckled as he stood up from his bed.

He raised his hand, golden radials at his fingertips. Each circle, every symbol, all moving in perfect unison. The smallest of movements perfectly slotted into the intricate collage. It was beautiful, like watching a clock’s cogs and gears tick in sync.

Renaud quickly etched the same runes I had with very different results.

Even in our cramped dormroom with an open window in the evening, the intensity of the light caught me off-guard. I even had to raise my arms to shield my eyes despite the opaque goggles usually being enough to properly cover my eyes.

“Alright, I get it, you’re a powerful mage,” I snorted, trying to peek.

More powerful than you, that’s for sure.

“Now please get rid of the literal sun you’ve conjured in our dorm.”

“Your wish is my command,” I could hear Renaud’s grin in his voice. After a second, the blinding light abruptly disappeared, leaving me able to see it again.

With a little bow, he flopped onto his neatly made bed.

We were both second-years at Aigle Rouge Imperial Arcane Arts Academy, a prestigious boarding school for mages and alchemists, in hopes of joining the frontlines in the north against the Horde. Said horde was the reason I had even been able to enter; the school was only open to the high nobility of the Empire beforehand. But with the impending threat in the north, it'd been open to the lower nobility too and anyone who could pay for it.

It was about as rigorous as it was wordy.

I glanced out the window. The daylight was fading, with the sun slowly setting on the forested horizon, casting long shadows and drenching all in sight with a red tinge.

“It’s getting late. I’m pretty sure the cafeteria should be serving food by now,” I hummed. I hadn’t eaten in most of the day since I’d been cooped up in the library studying tomes all day. Again.

Renaud waved his hand dismissively, “Not hungry. Went overboard on lunch.”

“Wait, you had lunch?” I blinked at him. Not that he could see my eyes behind my goggles.

“Yep!” he grinned, “Surprising, right? I even surprised myself.”

“Honestly unbelievable that you didn’t spend whatever free time you had to lounge on the roof.”

He made the OK symbol with his hand as he cushioned his head with the other, “I’m a man of very simple tastes. You got sky and wind, I’ll come running.”

I snorted again, “Good to know. You definitely weren’t ogling at the alchemist girls halfway across campus or anything.”

Renaud gave a sly smile as he grabbed one of his books, “Totally. I know better than to indulge in forbidden fruit.”

“Anyways, I’m just going to get something to eat.”

“Let me guess; you spe-”

“Spent all day in the library, yes. My runes aren’t going to get stronger on their own,” I shrugged, starting for the door.

They don’t seem to be getting any stronger with your reading either.

“Then get me some juice, yeah?”

“What type?”

“Any. Except Irelo juice. By the heavens does that juice make me want to vomit up my stomach and whatever else is in my ribcage.”

“So any juice except the sweetest fruit this side of the continent?”

“That’s precisely the issue!”

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“Uh huh,” I nodded, opening the door and sliding into the hallway, shutting it behind me. Our dorm was on the third level of the building, thankfully usually the most sparsely populated floor due to how many stairs needed to be climbed. Casting spells was exhausting, the last thing anybody wanted was to climb up three flights of stairs afterwards.

Well, anybody but me, I guess.

It was a godsend, honestly. I’ve seen the lower levels around the more active times of the day and it’s a nightmare. Mostly soundwise, but they’re still pretty dense. Enough that the hallways got a bit crowded unlike on my level.

The hallway outside our dorm had little activity when I stepped out, with just four – maybe five – guys talking throughout its entire length.

I just kept my head down and kept my mind on the idea of food. But with my eyes constantly obscured by my goggles, my eyes were free to roam the space regardless of how many people were there. Nothing much to see, though. Just a red carpet that ran down the hallway’s length, with little else but doors with numbers above them to break up the light brown walls.

Reaching the stairs, I hopped down a level. The lower levels around the more active times of the day were a nightmare. Mostly soundwise, but they’re still pretty dense in terms of people. Enough that the hallways got a bit crowded.

That stayed true even in the dwindling hours of the evening but to a lesser extent, with groups clustered around dormrooms, talking and socializing.

I quickly made my way down to the ground floor. More groups, and more noise. I even had to cover my ears a little.

I’d yet to see someone on their own, too. Seemed that no one would decide to be alone if they could help it.

You shouldn’t be alone either, but hey, you can’t help it.

The school had been going through some issues regarding disappearing students. We were never told much. On a surface level, the atmosphere in class and around campus hadn’t changed much.

But I could feel it. We all could.

Everyone was nervous, even if they didn’t admit it. Disappearing in the dead of night without a sound had changed from something that mostly happened in stories to a reality. It was clear in how some would nervously glance at any unknown person approaching, or how everyone refused to be alone if they had anything to say about it.

Last I heard, the Headmistress had called in part of the Imperial Civil Service to try to minimize the disappearances. So far, I hadn’t seen too much of them despite them being on the campus for a few weeks by now.

I was slapped out of my thoughts when I walked straight into a pillar, my face slamming into stone. My goggles took the brunt of it without complaint, thankfully.

I blinked behind the opaque thaumaturgical glass, trying to get a read on where I was while ignoring the aching around my eyes.

As I observed the smattering of groups of people around the room, I quickly identified it as the main hall which served as the junction for the buildings on the mage side of the campus.

The school itself was split in half, one half for us mages and our rune-based magic, and the other half for the alchemists which based their magic more on potions. Travelling between either side was pretty uncommon, but I wouldn’t know why.

There’s a reason but when I asked I got a response that went totally over my head. And, for fear of looking stupid, I hadn’t asked since. Something about the two practices being polar opposites.

I made my way to the cafeteria, a pretty short distance to make. It was crowded as hell, with most tables completely filled up. Even with the lively conversation that filled the room, it was still underpinned by the same anxiety the rest of the campus was. Something about how prevalent it was in the spot specifically just made my heart tighten up.

Long tables that could seat fifty were arranged in rows with white tablecloths to cover them. Students had their own chairs to sit in made of faux wood. What really had blown me away at first sight was the elaborate design of the whole room, with marble pillars in each corner and a golden chandelier.

A golden chandelier. It’s plated, sure, but still. It’s golden. Even my family didn’t have that sort of wealth.

At least none that you had easy access to.

I rushed over to the line for the food, grabbing a tray of whatever was being offered. I didn’t bother checking; it was the only option so there wasn’t much use seeing if it was something I liked. I grabbed a carton of priot juice and put it on the tray as well, pretty sure that Renaud liked it.

I hurried out of the cafeteria, eager to leave the tense atmosphere no matter how buried it was.

“Young man!” a voice called out to my side.

Confused, I glanced to my right. One of the men from Imperial Civil Service was jogging over to me, face red and panting. Guessing by how casually he was moving, I doubted I was in any sort of trouble.

“Uh… yes?”

He stopped in front of me, leaning on his knees as he gasped for breath, “Do you know where Headmistress Brunelle can be found?”

I blinked behind my goggles, “Her… office?”

“She has an office?” the man gave me a confused look.

“She does,” I said, my voice slow from my being caught off-guard, “it’s the biggest one in the administrative building.”

“Where’s the administrative building?”

“Haven’t you lot been on campus for a few weeks now? And you don’t know where the administrative building is?”

The man looked insulted but didn’t have the breath to snap back, so I kept talking.

“It’s the big building out front with ‘ADMINISTRATIVE’ above the front doors in big, fat letters,” I deadpanned.

“Thanks,” and with that, he was off again.

Not going to lie, I didn’t feel to safe with the Imperial Civil Service there if their men were like that.

I went back on my way to my dorm, nearly tripping on the stairs after a pair of classmates ran down the steps next to me. They even looked a bit scared, but I didn’t get the chance to ask why.

When I reached the third floor, it was empty. Had everyone gone to bed? I’d only taken half an hour or so.

Your sense of time really sucks, doesn’t it? Might as well have been a day for all you know.

Ignoring the unsettled feeling in my stomach at the dead silence, I walked to my dorm, 127. Laying a hand on the doorknob, I tried turning it. It didn’t budge.

That was… weird. I didn’t even know our dorm rooms could properly lock. Said locks were usually busted or stuck.

I jammed it a bit, feeling a rattling on the other side.

Wait a minute.

I pushed the door, feeling something on the other side keeping it in place.

Confused, I took a step back, “Renaud? You in there? It’s me. I have food.”

Nothing. The unsettled edge I had felt before was turning into anxiety. Laying down the tray on the carpet, I summoned the glowing radials around my hands. I quickly drew the rune for push, it being one of the few spells I could cast effectively.

Releasing it, I felt the quick burst of energy surge through my arm, leaving my fingertips and slamming into the entryway.

Immediately, it gave way, with the door flipping back violently as I heard something bump into the back wall. Picking up my tray, I walked in.

I didn’t like what I found.

Renaud’s book was on the floor, pages to the ground. His bed was a mess, covers nearly fallen off completely while one of his pillows had fallen next to the doorway.

Right underneath the window, the chair I’d been sitting in had hit the wall. It was laying on its side, one leg having broken off.

Above it, the window was entirely raised, curtains billowing in the window.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Feeling lightheaded, I placed the tray on Renaud’s mess of a bed and sat on mine. I tried to come up with any rational explanation I could. Even normally I’d have a hard time, but with my brain feeling like it’d short circuit any moment on top of how my hear felt like it was being squeezed like a lemon, I couldn’t.

There was only one obvious one: he’d been taken. Renaud had been taken.

Of course he was. No one blocks their door for fun.

The truth began to sunk in. I sat there, silent and still. My eyes were staring at the wall but I didn't see. Against my better judgement, I took off running for the administrative building.