It was gorgeous. Freely floating in space, before a backdrop of absolute black, glowed the Crystal Citadel. A colorful building with spires reaching up into the blackness of the night, piercing it with the light of human achievement.

“I still can’t believe I’m going to the most prestigious school for magic in the whole galaxy,” she murmured, almost giggling with glee. It had been her dream, ever since she was small.

“Look, kid,” the man next to her said, as he steered the shuttle closer to one of the landing bays of the crystalline structure, “I know you’re excited, but please go back to your seat now. I have to concentrate.”

She took a last glance at the enormous object, then made her way back, almost feeling like running around; as if the energy of this place was infectious.

She sat down next to her father. His gaze was locked onto the blackness of space and the occasional stars gleaming in the distance. “We’re almost there,” she whispered to him, her hands gripping the seat as she climbed back into it.

He only gave a long sigh as an answer.

“Daaad”, she said, a bit peeved that he didn’t share her enthusiasm.

“I know, I know,” he answered. “You do know that I’m proud of you, Lia?” he smiled. It somehow didn’t reach his eyes. There was a tension to his face, as if he was hiding another emotion. Was it Sorrow? Sadness?

She nodded and hugged him. “I know. That’s why I’ll do my best,” she said, then added in a whisper: “I’ll miss you, too.” She felt his arms close around and squeeze her.

The clanging sound of metal connecting to metal ended their short bonding experience, and she straightened, leaving her father next to her with a wistful look on his face.

“We have arrived in docking bay seven of the Crystal Citadel,” the pilot announced. “Please have a nice stay.”

The thick metal door opened with a hiss of air, and soon after the first passengers began to leave. She reached up to get her bag. “Be careful. And ... don’t forget to contact us every week,” he said.

“Aren’t you coming with me?” she asked him. He only shook his head in answer.

“The paperwork is all done, and I need to be back in the fields,” he replied. “The harvesting season begins tomorrow.” His hands twitched, and he looked at her as if he wanted to pick her up and bring her back home with him.

She embraced him again, tight, then reluctantly let go, before taking her bag and leaving the shuttle herself. She did her best not to look back, because then she might have taken the route to go back. Leaving her family to pursue her dream was a big step, so she instead kept her eyes focused on the exit. This was the only place in the galaxy she could study magic, and going back now would be giving up on that dream completely. If she could even deny the personal invitation she had gotten.

She followed the long square tube until her feet touched the crystal floor of the grand Citadel. She stared at the ground, her eyes following the intricate patterns of the silvery-white metal that was interspersed into the crystal. It almost looked as if she had stepped onto an enormous version of those old circuit boards.

“Miss Eo?” a voice called out to her, and she turned. A tall man in long robes approached her. He had a stern expression, which was enhanced by the sharp square glasses he wore. The robe itself was made of dark green, with gold and silver trimmings. His hair was brown and had a few streaks of glittering gold in it. Short and combed, it looked as stiff as the rest of him. He glanced at her, and then at the glowing rectangular pad within his left arm. He held it in one arm, like a precious child and tapped a few times on it using his other hand. Then his gaze fell back onto her. She immediately got the feeling that he was examining her as if she was a most interesting species. A species of some kind of insect. Disturbing, yet interesting.

“Yes?” she looked up at him, hefting her bag over her shoulder.

“I am Impero Ludwig van Ragd,” he explained. “I’m here to bring you to the academy.”

“Thank you,” she smiled at him. He scoffed. Did he expect some form of gesture from her? Or maybe the interesting part wasn’t as interesting, and he had settled on simple insect?

Insects are very important, you know? shot through her mind, but didn’t say it out loud.

“If you would follow me?” He turned, neither waiting for an answer, nor seeing her bite her tongue. Following him, she had to hurry slightly to keep up with his long strides.

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He led her through two corridors, past a myriad of stalls with people selling food, goods or even souvenirs, to some kind of round shaft that turned out to be an elevator. He didn’t say anything while they walked, waited or even rode the elevator.

This led to her staring through the translucent crystal glass of the elevator down at the big main floor of the station. She felt excited as they traveled up the tube. There wasn’t the familiar and yet strange sensation she knew from other elevators. Instead this was more the ground falling away from her. Almost as if she was flying. Would they learn how to fly? Magic had so many applications and possibilities!

Interested she searched for people that might be flying through the floor below. But from the dozens, no, hundreds of people, who were dressed far finer than she was used to, none flew. She noticed that the dresses, suits, and traditional working clothes she new were all well tended to, and there wasn’t a single one that sported a hole. But the amount of people with unusual hair colors was almost staggering. On Eo, many had had brown, blond or black hair, but here many had green, red or blue hair. Some even had golden hair. Maybe they all managed to fix their clothes with magic? As she grabbed a stand of her own silvery hair, she noticed that many of the more ... colorful people were almost always in groups of two. Maybe she’d find a partner of her own here, too? What would her dad say to that? He’d probably be jealous. But not being alone ... Not being the only one with a weird hair color was almost worth bracing that jealousy. Here she could feel normal. For once. For the first time in her life.

***

“Crystal Academy”, the lift announced suddenly, the voice a friendly feminine one. Lia hadn’t even noticed that they had slowed down, and when she turned, she saw the door opening.

Ludwig left immediately, and she gathered her thoughts, righted the bag, and followed him as quickly as she could. They stepped out into a brightly lit room, or so she thought.

Most of the quartz-like material gave way to bushes, neatly cut grass, and ponds. Far above her a sun illuminated the place, complete with a blue sky and few clouds that occasionally blocked the harsh sunlight she knew from home. Crystal walkways snaked their way through the beautifully kept garden and toward two big crystalline doors.

On the plaza in front of the doors was a small group of other children. They all had brightly colored hair, and one had hair that seemed to glow of its own accord, rivaling the grass in the lush green color the girl sported. They were all magical. Sure, the person who had scouted her, had also taken her just by the hair color alone, but she also said that there would be a test of some kind. But now ... she was sure that this test was just a formality. She belonged here. And she would ace that test!

“Wait here,” Ludwig ordered, and left her close to the group of waiting children. He quickly stalked off, using one of the crystal ways that seemed to lead around the door. She walked sideways and tried to look past the door, wondering how big the academy was, but it was almost as if there wasn’t anything behind the doors. Just a lone door standing in a lush green garden. This screamed magical at her.

“Oh hello,” the girl with the glowing green hair had approached her. “I’m Orphelia Deimos.”

“I’m Lia Selena Eo,” she introduced herself in kind and took the offered hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Phew, I’m relieved. Someone of the farming moon colonies,” the other girl observed with a smile.

“H... how did you know?”

“Because you have the surname of a moon,” the girl answered and giggled, “and your clothes are kinda giving it away.” She leaned in and continued in a whisper. “All those others? They have the names of stars or planets, and think they’re better than us.” She nudged Lia conspiratorially with an elbow. “Let’s prove them wrong.”

“Oh, yes, we will,” Lia answered, and grinned. She. had. magic. She had magic! Seeing all these signs, she was sure of it. And when they all had magic, she couldn’t be worse than them. Magic was the great equalizer!

“Awww, look, the small moons sticking together,” another girl said, sneering at them. She had fire red hair, and clothing that just screamed “rich girl”: A fine white blouse, a pale orange skirt that went to her knees, white knee high socks, and shiny black shoes. Lia, in contrast, wore a simple shirt and some trousers. It was the best she had, and yet the fabric was worn down, thinner at places, but at least they hadn’t needed any patches. Yet. Her shoes didn’t shine at all and the soles were due a replacement as well. Still she kept smiling. “Bathing in the glory of the bigger planets,” the rude girl added after Lia didn’t rise to the bait.

“Nice to meet you, too,” she responded instead. The redhair scoffed and turned away. “I am Eclaire Centauri, and I’ll be an Impera, mark my words.”

“An Impera?” Lia blinked a few times. She remembered, that Ludwig had also referred to himself as Impero, and turned to Orphelia. “What’s an Impero? Is that how you call mages here?”

“Oh, didn’t you know? You always need two people to perform magic: A Donar, that provides the magical energy, and an Impero, or Impera, that guides the magic and turns it into the desired effect.” The green haired girl answered, while the others snickered.

Lia stared at the green haired girl. “No way. I didn’t know that! I’ve read a lot about the feats and the effects, but no book ever mentioned there always being two people involved.” This made the others laugh.

“If you looked closely at the broadcasts, you could see it,” Orphelia answered. “And,” she bit her lower lip and let out a sigh, “the chance that we are just Donars ... is high.”

“Why?”

“Although you are needed,” Eclaire jumped in, “you are in effect nothing more than a battery that powers an expensive machine.” The rude girl sneered. “You can be replaced, but an Impera?” She shook her head, and the others were laughing again. Her superior, upside-down smile ... was one that the rudehair had to have practiced all her life.

“We’ll see,” Lia answered, grumbling. Then, suddenly all the puzzle pieces fell into place. That was why there were always two people together. And that was what the test would be for. Not to determine whether she had magic or not. They were so sure that they even paid all the costs for her to travel here and take that stupid test in advance. They just wanted to know whether she was of use, or just a battery!

“Dear new students of Crystal Academy,” a deep male voice boomed, pulling her out of those thoughts. “You are welcome to enter the world of magic!” And then, the two wings of the big crystalline door began to open.