Everyone sat around the classroom in silence. The room was a giant semicircle in design, with one piece desks scattered around randomly. Against the front flat wall were strange symbols and diagrams.
Draco sat in the middle of the room, Willow behind him to his left, the lizard asleep on her lap this morning. He turned in his seat to face her, and she gave him a half-awake smile, herself having slept in and barely making it to the Academy on time.
“Unbelievable.” The white haired girl huffed, crossing her arms. “What kind of professor is late for their own class?”
No sooner had she spoken did the door to the room swing open and in strode the most beautiful woman Draco had ever laid eyes on. She had long curly golden hair, wide hips, long slender legs, a doll-like face with sharp amber-coloured eyes, and a gravity-defying chest that she could eat her meals off of.
Her entrance was interrupted by one of the boys, the young man with golden hair and sharp blue eyes, leaping out of his chair and flying towards the professor, arms outstretched for a hug.
“MOMMY!” He cried in joy.
He was then frozen in the air as the professor’s hand latched onto his face and held him there, suspended by an unnatural strength that her slender arms would never have been suspected of.
“Darling,” she spoke in an elegant, almost song-like tone, “I told you that, in class, I am ‘Professor’ to you.”
“Right… I’m sorry… I forgot…” the boy replied, his voice etched in agony.
The remainder of the first-year class sat in stunned silence. Draco felt his mind crack as the scene that had unfolded in front of him replayed in his mind.
Darling? Mommy? Did these two have that kind of relationship?!
His eyes went back to the professor's voluptuous chest again, and he felt a painful pang of jealousy.
The professor blinked and seemed to take notice of the rest of the class for the first time.
“Oh my,” she said airily, releasing the boy and letting him crumple to the floor. “I am so sorry you all had to see that. My son can be rather affectionate.”
“SON?!” The class shouted in shocked unison as the boy leapt back to his feet and took a majestic bow.
“Indeed! I, Anthony Deer, am the eldest child of our esteemed professor for today: Margo Deer! And might I say, mommy, that breakfast this morning was absolutely scrumptious!”
“Anthony, take your seat.” She said with a smile, yet Draco could sense a poised snake behind her words. He gulped uncomfortably. This woman terrified him.
The moment was again made more ridiculous as three small children made their way into the classroom behind Professor Deer: a boy who could be no older than five, a girl who had to be around three, and a baby who was just crawling behind the other two. All three sported the same golden hair as the professor and Anthony. The young girl followed Anthony back to his desk, where she climbed up onto his lap and proceeded to fall asleep, while the other two followed their mother to her desk in the center of the room, set by the flat wall.
“Now, then,” Professor Deer said, picking up the baby before sitting down behind her desk. “Good morning, first-years. I am Professor Deer, and I am the Kingdom’s foremost authority on the phenomenon commonly referred to as ‘Eyes’.”
The room fell ominously silent at her words; all except for Willow seemed to be suddenly nervous. Willow looked around, confused, before looking to the Professor and pointing at her own eyeball.
“Eyes?” She asked, and the professor smiled.
“You must be Miss Jormund. I have heard that you are a bit… lacking in terms of formal education. You see, ‘Eyes’ refer to the strange holes that appear in the sky and spill out a purple fog.”
Willow suddenly tensed up as well, her pupils dilating as her mouth trembled out her native tongue.
“Nihara Mrtyu…” she whispered, and Professor Deer continued, seemingly to have not heard her.
“Yes. As you all seem to be aware, the Eyes themselves are not so much the danger of this phenomenon; they are more the warning sign. It is the fog, the Miasma, that spills out from them that is the danger. We understand very little about it, but we do know that it is fatal to any that breathe it in. Humans, animals, even plants on some occasions are all affected by it. Can anyone tell me what happens to those who are afflicted?”
The room remained silent. Everyone stared down at their desks, avoiding looking at the professor. Draco himself felt nervous. He knew the answer. They all knew the answer.
Finally, the white-haired girl raised her hand.
“Miss Solomon?” Professor Deer acknowledged her, and she spoke.
“The Miasma… those who breathe it in are… changed. They become…” She swallowed audibly, her voice trembling. “... monsters.”
“Yes.” Professor Deer nodded solemnly. “Those who inhale the Miasma mutate and become rabid beasts that will attack any living thing not afflicted by the Miasma. In my studies of both the Miasma and the Afflicted, I have come to the theory that they are able to differentiate between their kin and prey by scent.”
She rose from the desk and walked over to the wall, grabbing a nook and pulling it, revealing a sliding panel in the wall that gave way to reveal a drawing of what Draco assumed once was a wolf; now a ghastly, skeletal monstrosity that would be visiting him in his nightmares.
“The Afflicted all share a few core features.” She continued, turning the baby in her arms to keep it from seeing the diagram. “First is that their skin tightens against their bodies, quite often tearing to expose bone and muscle. Second is their breathing. The sound they make when they breathe is very raspy and rough, quite similar to how a sick horse breathes. Third is that they are incredibly difficult to kill with standard weapons. Iron and steel can barely cut them. This is because their skeletons and tissues seem to become much stronger, and the joints are more durable. This is why Knights are the ones dispatched to deal with Afflicted. Spirit weapons have no issues cutting through the muscle and bone, for some reason. And lastly is what happens to them after they are killed. Everything except their bones melts away into a viscous liquid, and their bones return to being ‘normal’, if you will.”
The class remained silent, everyone taking in every word that she spoke. Deer pulled another panel, covering the first image with a new one; a human one.
“Humans mutate in an identical manner as animals,” she continued, “only they are much more dangerous due to the fact that when a human becomes Afflicted, they maintain their ability to think and solve problems. Afflicted humans have been reported to throw objects, wield weapons, open locks and doors, even set fires. And if an Awakened human is afflicted while wielding their Spirit, the two are merged into one.”
She pulled a third image out, this one showing a humanoid figure with a large, monstrous clawed right arm.
“These Afflicted are referred to as Terrors. They are a fusion of man and beast. They are faster and stronger than an average human, and occasionally maintain the ability to use their Spirit Skills. Thankfully, it is extremely rare for an Awakened to become Afflicted while wielding their Spirit.”
She looked around the classroom, seeing everyone clearly unnerved.
“Any questions?” She asked, returning to her desk and sitting down.
“If an Awakened and their Spirit are Afflicted separately,” a boy from the back of the room raised his hand, “do they each just become Afflicted? Like… as in just a human and a beast?”
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“That is correct,” Profesor Deer replied with a nod, “though a Spirit Afflicted beast is naturally more dangerous than a regular Afflicted beast.”
Once again, silence fell upon the room. Draco looked to his Spirit, still fast asleep on Willow’s lap, and tried to picture it as an Afflicted. The thought sent shivers down his spine.
“Anthony, take the children outside for a moment, please,” Professor Deer said as she pulled a skull sized, beige coloured crystal out from behind her desk. Her son quickly stood and escorted the tykes outside, shutting the door behind him.
As soon as the door was shut, Professor Deer placed a hand on top of the crystal, which spat out a misty white haze that quickly filled the room, hanging in the air like a wispy fog. It had a strange look to Draco, like it was right in front of him and he could reach out and touch it, yet seemed so far away that it made the room feel exponentially bigger. From within the haze, dark shadows began to appear, slowly taking shape and revealing the images of trees all around the room.
Draco looked down and saw a dirt road under his feet. Above him, through the treetops was a full moon sky filled with stars. As he looked up at the starry sky, it suddenly split as a black rift snapped open. Its edges were a sickly dark purple, at its center was a pulsating red orb, and from its depths came lashing red tendrils. Its red center seemed to stare down at him, and the air was suddenly filled with an unearthly wailing sound as though a thousand cows were having their lungs ripped out through their mouths. The sound gripped Draco with fear, and he felt himself unable to move, unable to scream as from the depths of the Eye in the sky poured out the purple Miasma. It descended down on him like a waterfall, much faster than he had ever imagined. It now filled the entire sky. There was nowhere to run. No way he could hope to escape. Tears of terror brimmed his eyes as he felt himself unable to scream as the Miasma poured down on him.
The room suddenly cleared. The Miasma, the trees, the night sky, the white haze. All of it vanished as soon as it had appeared. Draco looked around the room, seeing everyone in the class was clearly as shaken as him, some more so as a few had seemingly been unable to control their bladders. Willow was clinging to the lizard as though it was the only thing keeping her sane; her eyes still staring up as her mouth hung open in a silent scream, tears flowing down her cheeks. Even Saphira was still staring upwards, sweat running down her face as she panted heavily, frozen in terror.
“That is an Eye.” Profesor Deer said calmly as she put the crystal away. “As you can see, they appear without warning. And if you are too close to it when it opens, there is little hope of escape.”
“What was that?” The white haired girl asked, her hand over her heart as she slowly took control of her breathing, pointing to the object the professor had just removed from view.
“This is a Soul Stone,” she replied, lifting the crystal back up into view. “An extremely rare occurrence in the world, and another part of nature that we do not fully understand. The current belief is that these stones are created when a person dies suddenly with a strong feeling of fear, anger, or sadness; and those feelings carry their soul out and take on the physical form of a Soul Stone. Though, again, this is still just an unproven theory.” The professor cast an eye around the room, notching the few students who were shifting uncomfortably in their seats. “Also you may leave to clean yourselves up if need be.”
The several first-years who had wet themselves all stood up and quickly left the room, embarrassed. Anthony and his siblings re-entered the room, the eldest boy smiling apologetically to the rest of them.
Professor Deer’s expression shifted slightly, from that of a teacher to that of a warrior. It was subtle, yet Draco noticed it and felt himself calm down a bit.
“But this is why you are all here. Knights protect the kingdom from any and all threats, be they bandits, invaders, or monsters. So I will say this to you all here and now: if you don’t feel up to the task of defending your land and loved ones from every form of monster in this world, then this is the time for you to walk away.”
Draco felt his pulse quicken. Him? Walk away? Not a chance! He looked around the room and saw that everyone had an expression of steeled resolve. He looked back to Professor Deer, who smiled proudly in response to their determination.
“Very good. Then you may all leave for today.”
~
“Keep it up, kiddios, come on. Only sixty more to go!”
Davon sat on one of the platforms of the obstacle courses while his squad did pushups on the ground. Saphira, Arius and Draco were all sweating and panting, but were pushing through the exercise. Sebastian and Elizabeth were having less success, the young man straining to continue while the young lady had given up and flopped flat on her face. And then there was Willow, effortlessly doing her pushups from a handstand, watching the others with a smile as they struggled.
“This is… nothing…” Draco grunted, forcing himself to smile as the muscles in his arms and back screamed in protest. “I can do this… all day…”
“That’s cute…” Saphira growled through gritted teeth as sweat dripped from her brow. “I can go all night.”
“You’re both insane…” Arius chuckled, his hair matted against his face from his sweat. He completed one last push up and lowered himself to the ground, panting. “I’m done.”
At his words, Sebastian also dropped to the ground.
“A logical withdrawal.” He gasped, rolling onto his back, his mouth wide as he gasped for air.
Draco and Saphira turned their heads to face one another as they continued their push ups, neither one slowing as the veins in their faces began to bulge from the strain. As Draco started to push himself up again, he felt something in his arm snap, and he dropped to the ground with a yelp of pain. Saphira completed her push-up and dropped, her eyes hazing from the exhaustion.
Willow set her feet back on the ground and rushed over to Draco. Davon looked down at the ground and sighed. He rolled off of the platform and tumbled the twelve feet down, landing on his feet as he pocketed the little leather book he had been writing in. He walked over and knelt down by Draco and took hold of his arm, examining the dark bruise under the skin.
“Looks like you tore your extensor. Well done,” he said as he helped Draco into a sitting position. Willow offered him a potion. Draco took it and down it in one gulp, gritting his teeth in pain as the muscles began to mend themselves.
“Good judgment, Arius,” Davon said as he walked away from Draco and over to a satchel in the shade of the obstacle course. He opened it and pulled out several water skins. “You stopped before hurting yourself –” he handed one of the skins to Draco, who looked away, embarrassed – “or burning yourself out.”
Davon opened a skin and poured some water out onto Saphira’s head, who slowly pushed herself back up before retching and vomiting all over the ground. Willow took the open skin from Davon and knelt beside Saphira, rubbing her back and pouring some water on the back of her neck as she shivered, her eyes blank from her exhaustion.
Davon handed a skin to Arius and Sebastian, then walked over to Elizabeth and pulled her to her feet before handing one to her.
“Mr. Black and Miss Faust, you two need to work much harder on your physical conditioning. Keep giving it your all.”
Both looked at the ground, embarrassed. Arius took a deep drink before pouring the remaining water all over his face. He handed the skin back to Davon, who took it and tossed it over to the satchel.
“So, which class did you all have today?” He asked as Saphira hurled again. Willow rubbed the girl’s back some more before looking to her Squad Leader.
“Professor Deer’s,” she said, and Davon's expression darkened.
“Oh,” he said, offering a skin to Willow, who politely refused. “So you had your encounter with an Eye, then?” He asked, and everyone who could nodded in silence.
“Davon, sir…” Elizabeth asked cautiously. “Have you… ever dealt with one?”
Davon blinked at her a few times before closing his eyes for a moment and standing in silence, as though reminiscing.
“I have,” he answered after a short while. “Several, in fact.”
“How… how bad was it?” She asked, and Davon turned to face her, his eyes dark and gloomy.
“You will find out for yourself, sooner or later.” He replied, and everyone tensed up at his words. “There are no words that can describe that hell.”
A sense of dread fell upon the group. No one spoke for what felt like ages. Davon finally sighed, scratching the back of his head as he realized he may have caused more harm than he had intended. His face then lit up briefly before his hand fell into a pouch on his belt.
“Right, before I forget again, these are for you all.” His hand came out holding a tangle of small chains and glinting steel. He pulled one apart from the clump and everyone was able to properly see the item; a small flat piece of steel in the shape of an elaborate kite shield hanging from a chain. “These are called Aegis Tags. You are to keep them on your person at all times.”
“What are they for?” Asked Willow as Davon handed the one he held to Saphira, her eyes studying the item curiously.
“It has several functions,” Davon said as he pulled another from the tangled mess and handed it to her. “Proof of your enrollment here at the Academy, which will give you priority at some shops for items like armour or potions.”
“Also useful for identifying dead bodies.” Elizabeth muttered grimly as she accepted the one handed to her.
Davon paused at her words. He only had two left in his hands now, and he held them uncomfortably. He slowly reached out and handed them to Arius and Draco before turning and heading over to gather up the satchel.
“That’ll be all for today. Head home and get some rest. I will see you all tomorrow.”
Davon walked off, leaving the teenagers to continue staring down at the ground in silence. After what felt like hours Saphira spoke, still on her hands and knees.
“What’s our morning course tomorrow?” She asked, some life back in her eyes. Willow offered her some water, and she sipped it, swished it in her mouth, and spat it out.
“Midweek, so a full day of joint combat training.” Arius answered, watching Davon walk away in the distance.
“Wonderful.” Elizabeth groaned before taking another drink.
Draco looked at the shrinking bruise on his arm and closed his fist, watching his arm shake from the strain. It had only been two days, and already he was feeling completely overwhelmed. He closed his eyes and pictured an Eye opening over the city. Imagined that Miasma descending down and engulfing the streets, the houses, and the people in an instant.
He opened his eyes and smacked his cheeks with his hands. That was not going to happen. This was why he was here. Why they all were here.