As the ship reached the dock of the island, the horn let out one last blast of a deep and big sound signaling that it was alright to disembark. The kids left the ship nearly in a rush, were it not for the creaking plank they had to walk on before reaching solid ground. Kassius and Fenris came down the ship following a large group of boys and girls clambering around the beautiful girl, whom Kassius had also been admiring back on the ship.
“Sometimes I wonder if she brought them as luggage as well.” Fenris said. Kassius chuckled at the joke, not entirely understanding it but it was funny nonetheless. “Who is she?” Kassius asked. “I don’t know either. If I had to guess, it’d be some uptight Fairy.” Fenris said. “Fairy?” Kassius asked. “Oh yeah I forgot, it’s your first time knowing about any of this.”
“Fairies are a people known for their beauty and love of arts and nature. Well their most noticeable feature is their wings of course.” Fenris explained.
“Not as annoying as the Archanaians like that asshole Adonis, but they are just as proud.” “There are three kinds of fairies, the Faeries, the royal and ruling fairies, the Elves, the common people that don’t have any wings but are part of the fairy community, and the Spriggans, the ugly elves.” Fenris continued.
Kassius noticed a much more serious tone when he mentioned the Spriggans, and he fell silent with a gloomy face. “Spriggans?” Kassius asked, bringing Fenris out of his thoughts.
“Oh yeah, Spriggans are the outcasts of their community, unlike us who are outcast for what some of us have done, they are outcast for how they look.” Fenris explained. “They’re considered ugly and abominations for Fairies.” Fenris finished looking gloomier by the second.
“Well, here’s hoping she doesn’t spread that fairy dust here, I might sneeze up a storm.” Kassius said, trying to lighten Fenris’ mood. Thankfully Fenris lightened his expression at the joke. Before they moved on, however, they heard a call.
“Help! Someone! Please!” the girl hanging from the hook of the pole, still there. “Shouldn’t we do something?” Kassius asked.
“Unless you know how to climb that and bring her down with you, we can’t do much.” Fenris responded. “Well, we can’t just leave her there.” Kassius argued, looking up at the girl feeling sorry for her.
“Someone will get her down eventually, most likely, maybe, come on before we get left behind.” Fenris argued back, urging Kassius to leave the girl alone. Kassius looked all over the deck and no one was there.
Much to Fenris’ reluctance, Kassius’ brow raised which gave more of an argument than words ever could. Fenris groaned with frustration and said “Fine, I may know something that could get her down.”. He walked up to Kassius and whispered angrily “If we get lost, I’m hanging you on that hook.”.
As Fenris walked up to the pole, he looked up at the girl, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He began to speak a different language and wave his hands in a fluid manner. As he did so, the air around them began to pick up and become stronger and stronger but they still kept their ground.
Fenris spread his arms, as if to gather something and pushed his hands up in the air, and the strong winds moved with his hands. The grouped up strong winds escalated to the height of the girl, as they reached her, she was lifted up, carried by the strong winds. Fenris then lowered his arms slowly, the strong winds lowering along, they reached the floor of the deck when Fenris’ hands were on the side of his waist. Kassius looked astonished, amazed by the feat of magic Fenris had performed.
“Thank you so much.” the girl panted and blushed looking at Fenris. “No problem.” Kassius responded, smiling kindly. “Try to stay put on the ground next time?” Fenris said, and Kassius nudged him with his elbow. “I’ll try.” the girl responded with an embarrassed tone.
She had long brown messy hair and was slightly shorter than Kassius and Fenris. She had a darker skin tone than either of the boys. Her clothes were modest, having a knitted sweater and ragged jeans. She was a far cry from the beauty of the fairy girl, she was shy and clumsy, a little bit naive too. Some would call her pathetic but Kassius didn’t see her that way.
“We better get going.” Fenris said, reminding Kassius and the girl. “Wanna go with us?” Kassius offered the girl. “Um s-sure, i-if it's no trouble.” the girl stuttered.
Kassius shook his head and smiled. The three began to walk down the plank and down the dock toward the big crowd of kids already on land. “What’s your name?” Kassius asked politely. “Um, Peony, and yours?” the girl asked.
“My name is Kassius, and my friend here is Fenris.” Kassius said happily looking at Peony but Fenris ignored them. Ashe started nibbling at Kassius’ ear, annoyed.
“And this drama queen is Ashe.” Kassius said, presenting Ashe. “Woah, a griffin.” Peony stared at Ashe starry-eyed. Kassius keeps forgetting that griffins are a rare sight.
They stopped just behind the huge crowd, Kassius tried to see what was at the front of the crowd, but could only barely see the top of an old man, based on the gray hair. “Settle down now! They will be arriving shortly!” a deep and familiar voice said from afar, presumably from the person that Kassius saw. Kassius and the others squeezed through the crowd to see more. At the front he saw a sight he hadn’t seen since his birthday, Auralius trying to bring order among the crowds of kids in front of him. “SILENCE!” Aurelius said, in an oddly amplified voice, causing the crowd to bend down covering their ears, including Kassius, Fenris and Peony.
“Good, now I would like all of you to separate yourselves into four lines .” Auralius said, as four people emerged from the forest standing in a line behind Auralius. “These are the Union Sentinels assigned to Baelvaire this year.” Auralius said, presenting the four dark cloaked people behind him.
The Sentinels wore a dark blue cloak with an insignia on it. A pair of golden hands beneath a globe, holding it, signifying their affiliation with the so-called Union.
The kids began to file into the four lines, each lining up in front of a Sentinel. Kassius, Fenris, and Peony lined up in front of a Sentinel who looked very powerful and intimidating. Kassius couldn't see their faces, but they stood tall, almost towering over the other Sentinels, and their shoulders were wide. They looked like a giant compared to the Sentinels, Kassius thought they might as well have been one.
"Each line shall go into the forest one by one." Auralius said. "Be sure to stay close to your guide, otherwise...... Well I'm sure you don't need me to tell you." Auralius said, jokingly as he smirked.
Kassius looked toward the entrance of the forest, a dark path ahead of them. In contrast to the beautiful island sight he saw moments ago, the way forward looked haunted and terrifying, despite it being the middle of the day. Kassius wondered why kids had to endure all this just to go to a school, and by the looks of them, Fenris and Peony were thinking the same thing.
"You'd think they were trying to kill us by sending us here." Fenris said. Kassius hoped he was joking but there wasn't a hint of sarcasm in his voice, Peony noticed it as well as she began to stutter frantically trying to speak.
"The Welcome Ceremony will begin once all groups reach the school grounds." Auralius said. "There you will meet the headmaster. Behave yourselves, lest you want to face punishment before your first day." Auralius explained, causing the air to feel more and more tense by the second.
"On that note, see you all on the grounds." Auralius said walking towards the entrance of the forest and vanished inside.
Each of the Sentinels began to speak and guide their groups into the forest, from left to right. The first line to go in had the fairy girl and her many admirers. Fenris looked at her disgusted, seemingly with a grudge against her but Kassius found himself mesmerized by her beauty like most of the people there, only snapping out of it after Fenris made a joke about her.
"I'm sure they can find their way through with that much light coming out her ass." Fenris said. Kassius just noticed how radiant she was, her wings glittered so much that she was, quite literally, glowing. Even with this, however, as she and her group went into the forest, the light disappeared, shocking Kassius. The second group to go in seemed like the most calm, going in without any trouble from the kids, the third, however, was another story. The third group were cowering just as much as Peony was, the only ones standing composed were Adonis and his pose.
Adonis smirked at the sight of his cowardly group and looked towards Kassius and Fenris. "Try not to get lost in there, I'm sure it looks homey for you." Adonis said sarcastically and smirking, proud of himself. Fenris looked at him angered, Kassius could only look disgusted.
As Adonis' group went in, Kassius hoped that something might catch Adonis and give him the scare he deserves. As the last of the third group disappeared into the forest, the Sentinel standing in front of the fourth began to speak and gesture. "Follow me and stay close." the Sentinel said, in a deep, loud and commanding tone. Kassius, Fenris, and Peony prepared themselves for what lies ahead, taking deep breaths and bracing themselves. After preparing themselves, the group goes into the darkness.
Entering the forest seemed relatively normal enough. Their dark surroundings caused most of the group to be anxious, Peony more than most, jumping at every crack a stick makes. As they travel through the dark forest, Kassius notices that the Sentinel did not make a light. Kassius could only barely make out the Sentinels' figure by the light at the entrance behind them. As they went further in, the light faded, becoming dimmer and dimmer. As the light nearly faded completely, Kassius focused all his effort on remembering where the Sentinel was, in the hopes of not getting lost. The light then disappeared, and gasps filled the silence, along with the footsteps made by the group.
No scream, not even a murmur from the crowd, silence filled the air, making Kassius anxious beyond belief. Kassius began to hear whispers around him, causing him to look around trying to see if he could make out a figure, but he saw nothing. He heard Ms. Jean's voice calling him in a whisper, and two other voices, a man and a woman, calling his name as well.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Do you hear that?" Kassius asked, hoping Fenris was still behind him. "I wish I didn't," said Fenris. Kassius kept looking forward during the conversation to keep himself from forgetting where he was. "What is it?" Kassius asked.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to do it no matter how much it calls me." Fenris said in a serious tone, almost frightful. "Calls you? I hear my name." Kassius said. "I hear mine." Fenris responded. Kassius stared forward confused, wondering what Fenris and Peony were hearing if it wasn't what he was hearing, he also wondered what was doing this, scaring him every minute he thought about it.
Kassius bumped into something in front of him, noticing the kid in front of him stopping, Fenris bumped into him and the whole group bumped into each other, and murmured in confusion. Then they heard the deep loud voice of the Sentinel in front of them saying "Close your eyes.". Kassius didn't know if his eyes were close or not due to darkness being present in both views. He heard the Sentinel yell a word he couldn't understand and in a few moments a bright light shone through his eyelids. Kassius tried to keep his eyes from opening, out of fear that the bright light might burn his eyes away.
After a few moments, he tried to peek to see if it was alright to open his eyes, to his relief and delight, he opened his eyes to a beautiful forest, with a glimmering spring with creatures gathering around the water. Flowers spread through to the ground and the vines align the path. The rest of the group opened their eyes and wonder filled their expression, along with Kassius. "Keep moving." the Sentinel said, catching the attention of the awestruck group of kids. They walked through the beautiful forest, the kids looking at every curious plant and animal with wonder, as if the fear they felt at the entrance had not existed before. Kassius looked behind at his friends, he saw that Fenris gave only a soft expression but he saw no smile. Peony, however, was entirely distracted by anything and everything in the forest, filled with a childish wonder and curiosity of a toddler.
The sights were straight out of a fairytale, the sun shining from the gaps of leaves, birds chirping, creatures with their young roaming the forest. Kassius wondered why it looked sinister at the entrance. After moments of walking in what seemed to be paradise, they reached an open area with neatly cut grass, void of trees and creatures. In the middle of the open area, stood a castle with a garden and fountain in front of it. The castle stood white and tall, the front gates in the middle were towering and the towers on either side, even more so.
A large beige gate stood at the end of the garden. In front of the garden, the two of the groups stood waiting patiently, with a loud noise of multiple excited conversation. The group stood beside the others and waited. The Sentinels stood in front of their respective groups, vigilant.
"That was kinda fun." Kassius said. "It was!" Peony responded gleefully. Fenris ignoring them again. "Something bothering you?" Kassius asked Fenris. "Nothing. I'm fine." Fenris said, defensive at the question.
While Kassius knew he was hiding something, he didn't think he knew him enough to ask what was wrong. "The castle looks amazing doesn’t it?” Peony asked, oblivious to the tension with Fenris. “It does.” Kassius responded, thankful for the change in topic.
He turned his attention back towards the castle admiring its beauty and majesty. He wanted to go explore the garden in front but he was too scared to try and get past the intimidating Sentinels standing guard in front of them.
It seemed like a long while before the last group emerged from the forest, seemingly tired and terrified. While none of them looked as if they were harmed, they looked traumatized and shocked, from what no one knew. The Sentinel , however, remained stone-faced.
“What happened to them?” Peony asked with a slightly worried tone. “Whatever it was, glad it wasn’t us.” Fenris said joining in their conversation.
The last group reached beside Kassius’s group and he saw Adonis with his eyes whitened, a far cry from the proud and arrogant smug look from his face, in all the time Kassius saw him.
“You alright, Adonis?” Kassius asked, trying to hold back the urge to act smug. “Shut up!” Adonis growled back. Before Kassius could reply back, Auralius appeared before the crowd with a fair skinned woman.
“I see you all made it out alive, very nice.” Auralius said, looking satisfied. “I hope you kids enjoyed your little stroll through the forest. It was only a few security measures we put up, I hope you forgive us.” Aurelius continued with a hint of laughter in his voice.
Auralius seemed more cheerful now compared to the serious business-like manner he was presenting at the entrance. It was probably a joke for his amusement, Kassius thought.
“Now without further ado, I would like to introduce you to our headmistress, Irene Sera Morael.” Auralius said, raising his left arm and stepping aside to present a beautiful woman as tall as Auralius. Her fair skin and raven-black hair brought out the color of her scarlet robe, as dark as it was. She looked like a queen, Kassius even thought he should bow as she stood up in front of the kids. Kassius even caught Fenris staring mesmerized, and Peony stared at her with wonder.
“Welcome children, you must be eager to start your very first year at Baelvaire.” Irene said with a kind and elegant tone of voice.
“I will be brief, we do not have many restrictions and rules here to encourage students’ freedom and creativity, however, these are the essentials..” she started to explain. “Firstly, students are not allowed outside castle grounds, other than weekends, holidays, and summer.” Secondly, students are not allowed on the shores other than the docks without permission and supervision.”
“Thirdly, violence among students is strictly prohibited.” “And lastly, practice of the forbidden dark arts are grounds for immediate expulsion.” she finished. Kassius suddenly remembered the story of the war and how Adonis, Fara, and Meos acted the first time he met them.
Animosity among races must be common for them to implement a rule for it. Kassius shivered at the fact that among the essentials is the ban on forbidden and dark arts. For something that seemed like a sin, Kassius is baffled at the thought of someone at the school practicing such things.
“Now, with all the formalities out of the way, the school is for you, the new generation, whether you be Vidacaris or Archanian, Human or Gaian, Half-blood or Pure, to be able to learn, practice, and improve your abilities so that you may make the world a more unified and peaceful place.” Irene explained, calm and with a little enthusiasm. “Baelvaire, are dedicated to shaping the next generations into leaders at the very least, and legends at the very most.” Irene continued.
“We expect great things from you, and we hope for greater things. Welcome to Baelvaire, may you find fortune on the bright horizon.” Irene said as she gave a bright smile and gave the front to Auralius.
“Now, arrange yourselves by gender. Boys on my left and Girls on my right. Move along now.” Auralius said, as the crowd scattered and mixed to form the two groups. Just as the two groups were formed two people emerged from the garden fence-gates.
“Girls, this is Ms. Cobbes, she will show you to the girls' dormitories.” Auralius said, as he presented the old, spectacled woman on his right. “Follow me, girls and no wandering, now.” Ms. Cobbes said in a strict and loud voice.
Peony gave a wave to Kassius and Fenris, and Kassius waved back while Fenris ignored. As the group went through the beige doors, Auralius introduced the man beside him. “This is Professor Kalahan, he will show you to the boys' dormitories.” Auralius said, gesturing to the man on his left. Professor Kalahan was a clean and well-mannered man, standing tall and dignified. “Follow me.” Professor Kalahan said in a deep monotone voice. The boys followed him into the garden to the beige doors of the castle.
The castle was as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. As they went through the beige doors, they were greeted by a beautiful hall filled with white pillars and white stone floors. The windows were huge, as if it were built for a temple or a church. The window pane had a vine and leaf design that seemed fitting for the elegance of the castle. Across the hall, the entrance to the huge main hall area where most of the visitors and some of the students. It was bigger than the hall before, and more distinct features, such as statues and paintings, were giving the room a much more ancient feel. The group went to the left of the hall, toward an open field. It was where many students went to relax and play, with only a tree in the middle, big enough to cover a third of the field.
The group only walked behind the pillars that divided the walkway and the field. As they walked through the castle, many students and, what Kassius could only assume to be the staff, were curiously looking at the group. Adonis did his best to portray himself as interesting and proud, believing than all if not most of the eyes were fixed on him, Kassius and Fenris noticed and tried their best to hold in laughter.
They arrived at a staircase leading up. “Stay close to the group, we don’t want to lose any of you.” Professor Kalahan said in the same monotone voice. The group looked at each other confused as to why he said that. “Follow me.” he said, as he walked up the stairs. By the time it was Kassius’ and Fenris’ time to ascend the stairs, they were expecting a very cramped spiral staircase. What they saw, however, left them dumbfounded. The stairs lead to a whole network of stairs leading to many doors and some stairs leading to long stretching corridors.
It seemed like a staircase maze. Kassius and Fenris tried to focus on staying with the group but they always ended up staring at any of the alluring paths and moving staircases that filled the vast tower. Without realizing, Kassius and Fenris bumped into a few of the boys in the group, seeing that they stopped. Kassius tried to look over the group to see what was going on , and saw Professor Kalahan standing before a black ornate looking door at the end of the top of the staircase they were on. Compared to the other designs of the castle that he has seen, the door in front of him seemed elegant. The black door had silver lining, rather than resembling leaves and vines, it bore the design of rough roots crawling from the edges of the door.
Professor Kalahan waved his hand from one end of the door to the other, clutching a glowing rock. As he finished his gesture, the roots on the door began to retreat back into the edges where it started, eventually disappearing from the door entirely. As the last of the roots vanished from view, the door opened, and Professor Kalahan gestured to the group to go in.
The group was greeted with a cozy and homey lounge area, with a fireplace on one side and chairs all around. As they walked further in they saw two staircases going up to several rooms on the second floor.
“This is the lounge area, where you can relax and study.” Professor Kalahan presented the lounge. “Above are your rooms, you will find your names on each of the rooms. This is where you will be staying for the rest of your years until you “graduate” as some of you would say.”
The kids began to explore the lounge and the second floor. “The room below is an empty room which you can fill out throughout your time here, you are free to fill it with whatever you wish but remember that forbidden magic is banned.” Professor Kalahan explained sternly. “That room is for everyone, a spell has been put to prevent any private or secret enchantment.” Professor Kalahan stressed. The group stopped their exploring to listen to him and nodded in silence.
“Classes will start the day after tomorrow, this will give you time to get settled. Behave yourselves, welcome to Baelvaire.” Professor Kalahan said and went back through the door.
The group resumed their exploring the dormitories and found that it was way bigger than a room in what looked like the inside of a tower. Kassius and Fenris went straight up to find their rooms, luckily their rooms were right next to each other.
“Let’s unpack so we can see the whole place.” Fenris said cheerfully, Kassius nodded and they both went into their room. Kassius opened his door and saw a clean bed white bed with a red blanket, a desk right across from it with a unique desk light, as well as a big closet right next to the door.
A window across the room, overlooking the field that he had passed by on the way to the dormitories. He set his things down and started to unpack and as he unpacked he looked around at his room, smiling then he looked out the window and into the trees surrounding the outside of the castle, into the field with the rest of the kids relaxing and playing. He smiled, in awe of how beautiful this place was compared to the dull place he grew up in. He was excited for his first days in Baelvaire.