Book 1 – Second Chance
Chapter 7 – Tri-Path Academy
Albi, and Bailey woke up first thing in the morning, or were rather rudely awakened by having their door shoved open.
“Wake up! No time to waste. We need to start heading into the Academic Zone right now” said the Madam as she kicked open the door.
Albi, and Bailey washed up, and prepared themselves as they headed into the carriage parked outside the inn alongside the Madam.
“You’re coming with us?” said Albi.
“Us? Oh yeah, Haler told me about that weird custom of yours…Yea, I’m coming with. Or did you expect any mortal to just waltz into the Academic Zone, and enter the academy like it was nothing?”
“But I thought the captain said if we made it here it means we were already accepted” said Albi, visibly confused.
“You really are an ignorant little alien, aren’t you? He said that so the guards with him would have an alibi as to what a weird naked alien mortal was doing next to a malfunctioning spell…” said the Madam her face hard to read.
“I don’t know why Haler is so interested in you, but I owe him a favor or two, so I will help him out. First things first, you don’t know him. Anyone asks, he only retrieved you from outside, and you have absolutely no relation to him. Don’t ask why. If he hasn’t told you, you don’t need to know yet. Second things second, you have slight amnesia due to being struck by a malfunctioned spell while you were meditating outside, and your memories are foggy. Third things third, anyone asks where you are from, you say you’re with the Madam of the Crossroads Inn. That should shut most people up, and give you time to acclimate, so you can lie better.” The Madam handed Albi a coin with a crossroads, and a small ‘M’ on the top right corner.
“They keep pushing things, or don’t believe you, you show them that”.
“Got it”.
‘Wow, she sounds like some sort of big shot around here. Who exactly is Haler, and why didn’t he tell us his name before?’
‘I told you she was amazing. As for the captain, don’t dig too deeply into it. From the sounds of things, we probably owe him our lives’
“Hey are you listening to me? Stop dozing off” said the Madam as she flicked Albi on the head.
“Ouch! Yea, I’m listening, sorry”.
“Good. Now, I’m going to take you into the Academic Zone. It’s a separate quarter of the city, only students, teachers, and other staff of the Academic Zone are allowed in, but since today is the entrance ceremony we can drive you in to the academy. Once you’re there, if you meet a feisty girl with short red hair, and a very toned body, that’ll be Zaya. Haler’s daughter”. The Madam stopped, leaned in, and grabbed Albi by the collar.
“Be. Nice. If you hurt her, I will break you.” As the Madam said that, her eyes started to shine a bright green color, and green ‘gas’ started to flow around her body.
“Y-Yes ma’am. I will. Don’t worry”. Said Albi as he broke into a cold sweat.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Good. We should be pulling up to the Academic Zone any minute now. Once inside, hand them this.” Said the Madam handing Albi, and Bailey a paper identification.
“We already have our identifications though?” Responded Albi.
“That was a backup ID in case I refused to help Haler. Hand it over.”
The Madam took their paper, and it suddenly started to light up in green fire, and disintegrate into ash, which then fell out of the carriage.
“Once you hand them the papers, you will be given a badge, and uniform. After the speech, you will be split into groups to undergo the Pore Opening ceremony…You better grit your teeth hard for that one, and not embarrass me. After you pass that, the badge should do its thing, and it will count as your ID with a soul imprint from you.”
“Okay, and what happens afterwards?” asked Albi.
“After that? You officially start your life as a student of the academy. You will be living on campus with two other roommates, and live your life on the Academic Zone. Students admitted into the Academy all have to pay to be there one way or another. Either you pay them with coins, crystals, or other valuables, or you work for them. They will make sure that whoever they accept will not be a liability”.
“Got it…But, what exactly do we learn there?” asked Albi.
“Ugh, I hope Haler knows what he’s doing…Alright, listen up, I’ll give you a quick rundown so you don’t arouse suspicion inside. No one’s gonna believe someone coming from me has no idea what the hell is going on” said the Madam adjusting herself, and looking Albi, and Bailey in the eye.
“For the longest time, this place was covered in a giant wave of darkness. The Void. That’s what we call it. In it, nothing that enters can leave. The laws of the universe twist, and turn in there. It is the absolute lack of anything, and everything. Including space, and time.”
“A few thousand years ago, the void started to gradually lift, and this place was discovered. Surprisingly it not only had life, but had people who used magical arts, but since they were in a vacuum, they developed their own techniques, and understandings of the universe. The nearby small powers of Magicians, Cultivators, and Warriors started to converge to plunder all the riches for themselves. Only problem is, this planet has its natives, and they’re monsters in their own right. People that are so strong they almost destroyed all of us if we hadn’t grouped up at the last second. We were driven out, and after a while we all converged on the three surrounding planets, and took them for our own. It appears like it was some sort of training grounds for the natives of Ura’s younger generations so it was much easier.”
“Then after reaching an accord, all the individual powers decided to team up, and create the Tri-Path Alliance, and establish a foothold on this continent. Ura-Na. It was the easiest continent to take control of. So, we set up a foothold here, and created the academy in order to help our own younger generation with their cooperation, and help the leaders research, and truly understand where our powers come from. This is because the natives of Ura don’t belong to any one of our three paths per se. They have their own variations of it.”
“So, to sum it up, your purpose in there will be to learn about the history of Ura, the Alliance, as well as choosing your own path, and growing strong. The Academy is basically a breeding grounds for soldiers. This will not be a happy journey, nor will it be easy, especially since you’re not paying your way through. Meaning you will go on missions frequently, so you better prepare yourself.”
“W-Wait, you said: us, and thousands of years ago…How old are you exactly?” asked Albi.
“…”
“….”
“………..”
“You know, if I cared for that type of thing, I’d beat you up right now…”
‘You should probably think before you speak next time Albi…’
‘What it was a genuine question, you wouldn’t care if someone asked you would you?’
‘…’
‘Bailey?’
“Lucky for you, I don’t care for it, and we’ve already reached the gates.” Said the Madam with a cough.
Albi, and Bailey jumped to the windows, and looked up at the marvel of architecture that stood in front of them.
A giant fantastical castle hundreds of meters tall, with three large spires forming a shape of a triangle around the castle grounds. The north colored in a blue metal that gave it a refined icy look. The west one was built of hard tough looking metals, imbued with a certain green haziness to them, that gave them a feeling of invincibility. As for the east tower, that was a giant thin spire made of what looked like concrete, and bricks, but it emanated a faint purple light from it suggesting a hint of mystery.
“Welcome. To the Tri-Path Academy!”