The dining hall was bustling with noise as many students were still clamoring and running around, preparing for the exams. Amongst the loud and clamored crowd, Kassius and his friends discussed their encounters with both Miss Cobbes and Auralius. Kassius told them what Auralius said to him before he left.

“That’s a little suspicious don’t you think?” Gwin said with concern. Kassius nodded in response. “Isn’t that what he told us on the first day?” Eva said.

“Well he clearly knows something about Kassius, we’re sure of that now.” They agreed that Auralius’ advice proves that he knew something about Kassius, but his intentions were still a mystery to the group.

“Another thing that was suspicious was that it seemed like he was telling you to get involved, wasn’t he?” Gwin pointed out.

“Don’t you have ears? He said not to get involved with this, otherwise we’d end up dead.” Fenris responded. Gwin gave him a fiery glare, almost as if one more word from him would make her burst. The look made Fenris recoil back and slightly behind Kassius.

“Before I was rudely interrupted, why would he give this advice if he expected us, or more specifically Kassius to stay out of it.” Kassius and Fenris briefly looked at each other confused, causing Gwin to sigh in disappointment and slam her face on her palm, while Eva gave a slight chuckle at the situation.

“She means that he gave advice on purpose to encourage Kassius to get involved.” Eva explained. Kassius and Fenris nod in unison as they both finally understand what Gwin meant. “Sometimes I wonder how you two make it through one lesson.” Gwin said. They all laughed at the joke, bringing a joy that seemed to be in short supply in the past few days.

“Well if Auralius did want Kassius involved, what does he want with him?” Fenris asked. That had been in Kassius’ mind since Auralius told him his advice. They all sat silent, contemplating the thought. “What if…..he was the one who injured the Sentinel?” Gwin suggested. “That’s impossible, he's a teacher and on top of that he’s practically the acting headmaster if Miss Irene isn’t here.” Fenris argued. “Which would make him the least likely to be suspected, and in a perfect position to tell the Forgotten about the catalyst, right?” Their eyes widened at the realization, Gwin’s logic was sound, as usual for her. “Wouldn’t that mean that we have a terrorist in the school?” Fenris said, frightening everyone at the idea. “That’s…..well…..shit” Fenris began to regret pointing it out growing quiet.

“This is getting scary you guys.” Gwin said, her voice shaking. Fenris remained silent, and his eyes whitened. Eva’s expression grew from focus to worry in an instant. Kassius had never seen them so shaken before, but he couldn’t blame them as he too was afraid of the idea. Seeing the others scared and pale with worry, scared him, which meant that he couldn’t ask them to go any further, not with all that they know.

“Let’s not worry about this, we’ll get through exams and then we figure this out.” Kassius suggested. The others began to calm down, Gwin then proceeded to bring out her study materials for every one of her classes, Fenris groaned in protest but brought out his notes as well, the few that he had at least. Eva began to read through her notes as well, consulting Gwin from time to time to make sure she was understanding the lessons right. Kassius read his notes silently,, trying to focus on Auralius, the catalyst, and the Forgotten, to no avail.

—-

The week went by almost immediately, despite the exams that were going on. Kassius had never been formally educated but he was taught by Miss Jean. However, that did not prepare him for the hour-long silences at every written exam. It was as if his head made more noise than the room he sat in. He was able to get through history and human society no problem. However, he didn’t fare as well in magic. The practical magic tests consisted of magical recitation and manifestation, both of which Kassius struggled immensely in. Gwin was the best when it came to recitation, as her memory and intellect has always been impeccable. Fenris was the one to dominate manifestation, however, being able to conjure up an immense amount of magical energy that makes the rest of the class look like infants by comparison. Between these two, Kassius was barely able to keep up. He was told by Fara that magic was in everything but at that moment, he’s inclined to disagree.

Thankfully, what Kassius lacked in magical ability, he made up for in physical prowess. Where the magic tests consisted of recitation and manifestation, combat tests consisted of only one thing, one-on-one sparring matches. The most notable matches were Eva’s, Hazel’s, and Kassius’. These three seemed to be the most capable among the bunch, being able to impress Auralius a few times. Hazel’s monkey side gave him an edge in agility and strength, beating his opponent as cheerfully and enthusiastically as only Hazel would. Eva’s match really showed her focus and tenacity as a fighter. She was already impressive enough to be able to keep up with the likes of Gwin and Fenris when it came to magic, however, her overall skill is evident in her match. She was fighting against Adonis, while mainly proficient with magic, is also quite capable with a blade. With a mix of her athleticism and quick conjuring of environmental spells, she was able to overwhelm Adonis with ease. Kassius had always been amazed by her fighting ability, and everything else about her. Thinking about it, even though her actual appearance is undesirable by a lot, he still thinks that Eva was born to be perfect given her performance in every one of their tests.

While he had two friends who were amazing in the combat tests, he still had others that were less than capable. Peony, being her usual self, nearly knocked herself out with her weapon and her minor spells nearly hit the students outside of the ring. Suffice it to say, she only barely passed, if anything. Gwin fared better, however, her reliance on traps and magical trinkets meant that she was vulnerable to those who overcame them. Thankfully she was up against Zeke, who was kind to say the least. Kassius and Fenris were paired up, to Fenris’ delight as he knew he’d get more of a beating from anyone else. Remembering Fenris’ offer when he was in the infirmary, Kassius paid him back in full. Less about getting even, more rather to make the most of the opportunity of an easy opponent.

On the last day of the exams, Kassius and his batch were finishing up their last test of the day, a written test for Gaian History. Sir Leonard sat in his chair in front of the class. For the first few minutes he kept watch on the class, however in the middle of it he fell asleep, only being woken up by the loud ringing of the castle bell, signaling the end of the class, and the end of the tests for the day.

“Turn your papers over to me, then you may leave.” Sir Leonard said. The class formed a line leading towards Sir Leonard and then out through the door.

After they turned in their papers, Kassius and his friends gathered together and proceeded out to the field. They sat under the tree, Kassius looked around to make sure that they were out of earshot.

“Now that exams are done, shouldn’t we be focusing on the catalyst now, and what we’re going to do about it.” Kassius urgently said to the others.

“Well, there’s not much we can do, the teachers said that they will be handling it so I guess we should wait for any news from them.” Gwin suggested, much to Kassius dislike. Gwin saw his expression and gave him her disapproving look.

“Kassius, I know what you're thinking and no. Remember this entire thing could be a trap to lure you out.” Gwin stressed.

“Even if we don’t know why, it’s too dangerous, so please Kassius.” Gwin softened her expression. Kassius sighed and relaxed as best he could.

Fenris yawned and stretched his arms out, breaking the tension between Gwin and Kassius.

“I’m just glad that exams are finally over. I’ve been wanting to relax since forever.” Fenris said with a big grin on his face. Kassius and Eva grinned out of laughter at his joy, Gwin frowned and hit his head.

“You barely gave any of the tests even a little bit of effort.” Gwin said, disgusted. Fenris shrugged it off as he was getting used to this behavior, and he didn’t want to argue with Gwin.

“I wish I could’ve done better in combat, I was pathetic.” Gwin pouted.

“At least we were allowed magic, even if only a little bit.” Kassius said, trying to reassure Gwin, to no avail.

“How do you even know how to fight Kassius?” Gwin asked. The others looked at him too, putting him on the spot.

“I don’t really know.” Kassius said, earning a shocked and confused look from his friends. “I was kind of winging it on the first day, picking the lightest weapons and all that.”

“But when Auralius fought me, well beating me, I felt something “take over.”.” Kassius reminisced about his first taste of real combat.

In the orphanage he had always avoided succumbing to the taunts of his bullies. His fight with Auralius marked the first time he ever used a weapon, and the first time he had to fight.

“At the time I thought I was just mad because I was getting beaten to a pulp, I just wanted it to stop.”

“But looking back on it now, especially after the games. I think it was that…. thing .” the group’s expression changed from shock to pale fear.

“You’re telling us that that …thing in you….is what helps you fight.” Eva asked, her voice slightly shaking. Kassius shook his head, gaining a sigh of relief from the group.

“Everytime I fight, I don’t feel it but after that first fight, what I do just gets there.” Kassius said. The others looked at each other confused, wondering what Kassius meant.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but I had no memory of ever fighting, let alone know how to fight as well as I do. But after Auralius, it just felt like I’ve known it all along.” Kassius stared blankly, as he began to wonder himself as to what’s happening to him.

“Seriously, you are by far the freakiest person I’ve ever met, and it’s really something coming from me of all people.” Fenris said, jokingly. This cheered up Gwin and Eva a little bit. Kassius chuckled and smiled slightly.

Kassius had always known he was a mystery but in a short span of a year, he had learned that there’s a hidden world, and with that new world came new possibilities and new mysteries about him, more than he could’ve thought of.

Kassius and his friends sat under the tree a while longer, talking amongst each other about the exams, slowly shifting away from Kassius.

“How did you become so great at spell incantations, Gwin?” Fenris asked. “I read a lot about all types of spells, and remembered every detail of the spell.” Gwin answered confidently.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“That explains that big head of yours.” Fenris said jokingly, earning him a glare from Gwin. “Anyway, I have a great memory so reading books is almost like feeding me information.”

“These glasses also help out a lot.” She takes her glasses and shows her pair to the group. “What’s so special about it?” Kassius asked eagerly.

As he waited for her to answer, he looked into the glasses and saw the magnified words from the books on Gwin’s lap. He saw the words and letters moving around at a rapid speed. However, despite how fast it is, he could understand what it said. It was as if someone showed him a picture with only words.

“The glasses allow me to easily understand every word in every language and every writing.”

“No matter how complex a phrase or word is, no matter how long the book is, I can read through and understand it no problem.” Kassius’ jaw dropped in awe at Gwin’s glasses.

“That’s amazing, where did you get those?” He asked eagerly.

“I made them.” Gwin smirked, proud of her invention.

“Why are you still in school? It seems like you could easily perfect any one of our subjects.” Kassius asked. Gwin’s smirk disappeared and quickly formed into a low frown.

“Making these glasses was a piece of cake, once you know the basics of magic, it wasn’t anything too advanced.” Gwin said, lowering her head and shrugging.

Her pride in her creation nearly disappeared as she answered, seemingly reminded of something. Kassius thought about asking her what was wrong but didn’t do so out of respect for her.

“And besides, I’m sure you’ll be able to make something like this by our second year here.” Gwin said. Kassius laughed in response.

“I think you’re overestimating me a little bit, Gwin.”

“A little bit? He couldn’t mix any of those materials even if you gave him instructions.” Fenris chimed in, chuckling.

The group had a laugh as they relaxed under the tree, and for a brief moment had no worries in the world, only for a brief moment, however.

“All students out of their dorms must return as soon as possible. Any students found roaming the ground 2 hours after this message will face severe punishments. Thank you.” a voice echoed throughout the ground of the castle, loudly. The group got up and hurried towards the entrance hall.

As they approached the hall, they saw students hurrying towards the dorms and teachers ushering the students to move.

“What’s going on?” Gwin asked. She started to show hints of concern and fear in her expression as she watched the commotion unfold.

Kassius looked at the situation, wondering what could be happening, then came to a realization. Someone may have been attacked, or maybe the entire school is under attack, by the Forgotten. He looked at his friends and saw their worried and fearful expressions. He was going to tell them to meet up after all of this, but hesitated because he didn’t want them to get involved and end up getting hurt in the process.

“Once this is all over let’s meet tomorrow, once we know more, deal?” Kassius proposed to his friends. Kassius had every intention to get to the bottom of this. He had a feeling he already knew what was coming, but he hoped that he was wrong, however unlikely it may be.

Kassius and Fenris separated from the girls and joined the boys' crowd heading towards the boys dorm. As they arrived at the dorm they saw all of the boys in their year, crowding around talking amongst themselves, most likely talking about the sudden announcement. They made their way through the crowd, finding a spot near the stairs that is surprisingly unoccupied by anyone in the crowd.

"You could barely breathe without someone smelling your breath instantly." Fenris said, groaning from squeezing through the huge amassing crowd.

"At least you didn't get close enough to taste the sweat." a voice said from behind them. They turned to see Hazel and Zeke walking up to them.

Even despite the stressful and ominous atmosphere, Hazel remained his happy self, smiling away, while in contrast, Zeke was as anxious as everyone in the entire dorm.

"How are you still grinning away like an idiot?" Fenris asked.

"I just figured it would help for at least one person to be happy, don't you think?" Hazel responded. Fenris rolled his eyes at annoyance.

"I honestly don't see how that helps us in any way, Hazel." Zeke said. Hazel put his arm around Zeke and Fenris, to their annoyance, and smiled even brighter.

"Wouldn't you be happy if you saw someone as cheerful as I was?" Hazel said. "I'm dying just seeing you like this." Fenris responded sarcastically, as he and Zeke tried to break from Hazel's embrace. Kassius laughed at the whole ordeal, somewhat proving Hazel's point he thought.

After a long wait for any news, Miss Cobbes spoke to the entire school again.

"Attention students, in light of recent events, the school has decided to put everyone under close watch." the whole dorm gasped almost instinctively.

"The union will be sending more Sentinels to the school to act as guards, and will be guarding the halls regularly."

"No student is allowed to roam the castle nor the forest, without permission or supervision." there was worry in the air, and in Miss Cobbes' voice. Kassius and Fenris exchanged looks with each other.

"It has come to our attention that there is someone in the school who means harm."

"As to their motives we can only guess." As she went on about the news, the boys in the dorm started whispering. Their collective whispering echoed throughout the entire dorm.

"Looks like they are going to school after all." Fenris said. Kassius nodded. There was no doubting it anymore, Kassius had to do something, tonight.

"We advise the students to stay in their dorms for the rest of the day, for the sake of your safety. Tomorrow, your teachers for your respective classes will usher you to your classrooms, you are not to stray from your class for any reason."

"If the culprit is not caught by the end of the week, we will send all of you home." She kept her voice as calm as possible to prevent panic, however, Kassius could've sworn he heard her voice tremble in that last reminder.

"Please be cautious, stay safe, students." the whole dorm, and Kassius had a feeling that the entire school was silent, with only a few whispers among the students being heard.

The only expression in the boys' faces was worry, as most quietly went to their respective rooms. Only a few remained in the lounge, Kassius and Fenris among them.

"Dammit, just when I thought we could relax." Fenris said, frustrated.

"We have tonight at least, let's try and get some rest." Fenris let out a big sigh and proceeded upstairs with Kassius behind him.

Later that night, the dorm became quiet, you could hear the crickets whistling in the air with great clarity. The whole dorm was fast asleep, all except Kassius. He had climbed out of bed and rummaged through his stuff as quietly as he could, careful not to wake Ashe, Cecil, or Fenris. He took out his communication rune and his blade and quickly but quietly got dressed. He double checked and triple checked if his friends were asleep. The last time he checked, Fenris was rolled up in his covers fast asleep and Cecil was still on the table curled up, Ashe lay in his cage, not a chirp or loud screech coming from him. Kassius let out a sigh of relief and proceeded to carefully open the door and head out.

Kassius relaxed a little but remained careful not to make a sound to wake anyone in the dorm, until he heard a voice that made him startle.

"You're not the best at sneaking out y'know." a voice quietly said behind Kassius.

Kassius' tensed up immediately and looked behind him. He saw Fenris, fully dressed and waiting under the staircase, with a smug smirk on his face. Kassius tried to figure out how Fenris is here, in his head and how he knew he was going to do this, until Fenris spoke again.

"I might not be as smart as Gwin, but I have some tricks up my sleeve that you don't know about."

"Besides, did you really think you could hide anything from me?" Kassius never thought that Fenris would be paying attention to him, then again, he has gotten used to being avoided by people that he didn't know how it felt for someone to actually bother being your friend.

While it annoyed him, he also can't help but feel happy at the fact.

"You're not stopping me, Fenris." Kassius said fully expecting him to argue back.

To his surprise, Fenris didn't show any sign of frustration nor did he even seem fazed by the fact that Kassius lied to him and the girls.

"You just proved my point y'know." Fenris responded, with a staff on his hand as he walked towards and passed Kassius.

"What point?"

"That you're even dumber than I am." He stood wondering whether he should take that as an insult.

"Are you just gonna stand there or are we going to do something about this mess?" Fenris said approaching the door. Kassius shook his head and followed after him.

Kassius and Fenris walked up to the door, however, Fenris stopped before he could turn the knob. Before Kassius could ask why he stopped, he heard voices on the other side of the door.

"These kids have no idea just how bad the situation is here." a deep voice said.

"Of course they don't, they're kids. Their worry is passing school as long as they're here." another voice said, a lot more gentle than the other, but still with hints of a commanding tone.

"Sentinels." Fenris whispered.

Kassius cursed under his breath, annoyed at the fact that past the door he had to deal with Sentinels until he reached the altar in the woods.

At that moment it seemed like they couldn't avoid a fight, but the least they could do was take them by surprise. Kassius and Fenris readied their weapons, and Fenris started to count down from three.

"One... Two..." he mouthed to Kassius. Before he got to three, they heard more voices outside the door.

"You two, come with me." a familiar authoritative voice said. Kassius knew who it was.

"There has been activity in the North side of the castle, we will check it out."

"Yes Auralius, sir." the two voices said in unison. Footsteps from right behind the door faded away until it was silent.

Kassius and Fenris waited a few more seconds, then opened the door. They looked around to see if anyone was left, but not a single one, Sentinel or otherwise.

They hurried towards the stairs before anyone suddenly showed up and took care not to make any noise as they ran down the stairs and reached the entrance to the field. When they walked through the entrance they saw two figures in the distance by the center tree in the field. They cautiously walked closer, in case it was more Sentinels or teachers. To their relief, it was only Gwin and Eva waiting under the tree as prepared as they were, maybe even more so.

"Took you two long enough." Gwin said, annoyed at both of the boys as usual.

"You guys too?" Kassius said, just as annoyed and frustrated as Gwin.

"You're a terrible liar, Kassius." Eva said confidently. Fenris let out a chuckle, while Kassius sighed deeply.

"We knew how stubborn you'd be, and you wouldn't let this go."

"Clearly, talking you out of it would've been a waste of time, so we decided to go with you, and YOU can't talk us out of it." Gwin said firmly.

He looked at all three of them partially annoyed, but deep down he was glad that he didn't have to do this alone.

"If you guys are absolutely sure.." Kassius said, looking at his friends to make sure they were certain about this.

They all gave him confident and reassuring looks and nodded. It gave him a very warm feeling, causing him to smile. "Ok then, let's go to the altar. Be ready for anything." Kassius said as he led his friends to the entrance to the forest.