Merigold led Ilya down a long corridor scattered with doors until they came to a large red one. “Well, this is where the women's quarters are. You’ll be staying here along with the rest of the gang.” after this Merigold opened the door, “Hey guys we have a new member!” she shoved Ilya in and, after stepping inside herself, closed the door. She put a well-manicured hand on Ilya’s shoulder “Everyone, this is Ilya. She’s our newest recruit. Make her feel welcome.” With that, the room seemed to explode with chatter. “Where are you from… how old are you… what kind of magic do you use?” They all seemed to blend together, not being able to answer their questions she stuttered. “Well uhh-” She was cut off by a woman with pink hair. “All right everyone back off a step or two.” she sighed “Honestly, whenever someone new joins you all nearly choke the life out of them.” she smiled at Ilya. “ I'm Renco, most people call me Ren. I’m the leader of this dorm.”

Another girl staggered to the front next to Ren, with hair as blue as the sky. “More like the mom of the dorm” some of the girls laughed but the majority were hushed until Ren looked at the girl. “Shut up Lei!” Ren was crimson, causing Lei to laugh again. “Oh my god Ren, you need to loosen up a bit. I’m Lei, Ren’s “second in command”. Basically, I do all the stuff she doesn't want to do.” Lei laughed a bit until Ren hit her arm. “Anyway I’ll ask you a few questions and you can ask some of your own afterwards. How’s that sound?” The pinkette asked, “I think it sounds great!” Ilya beamed sitting down on a bed.

”Okay well, we already got your name so how old are you?” “I turned 15, just a few months ago.” Ren smiled, “That makes you one of the youngest girls in the guild.” Merigold sat next to her. Lie looked at Ilya “What kind of magic do you use? I can’t get a clear reading on you.” she shudders “It’s unnerving.” Ilya looked at her quizzingly. “I use Barrier magic but I’m trying to improve my fire magic, as its my affinity. I also have a summon.” at this Ren looked at her, with wide eyes, and asked, “ Can we see them?” Ilya smiled and whistled.

A blast of fire flared up on Ilya’s lap. “Lady Ilya, what may I do for you?” the fire spirit asked. His body was short and he had three fingers on each hand and flat feet. He was entirely made of fire, but no heat came off of him. His head was square shaped and on top flames licked around where his hair was supposed to be.“Oh, nothing really Flay. The girls here just wanted to meet you.” Flay turned around and bowed to the group. “They’re so cute… I want one… how are they not burning her?” Flay looked at Ilya “ I’m very sorry Madam, but I must go,” his flames seem to die down and turn a lighter shade of orange, “I recently returned from Jötunheimr, and I still feel cold.” He bowed to her, “I’m quite sorry Madam.” “It’s fine Flay, see you later.” They nodded and disappeared in smoke.

“Wow. That’s so cool Ilya! I wish I had a summon, but ones that match my element are very rare.” Merigold sighed. “What’s your element Merigold?” Ilya asked, puzzled as she thought all wizards had summons. “Well, I’m a light wizard.’ she brushed her golden brown curls out of her face. Her eyes started glowing with a low light. “I mainly use it for healing but I also can attack with it too.” she smiled. “But I still have questions so we can talk about my magic later.”

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Ilya sighed “Right. Sorry. What do you want to know?” Merigold smiled sheepishly. ” Well, I overheard you telling Master Erik and Vḗra that you’re related to Ilyat Storm-handler. Is that true?” The room once again fell quite at that name. “Yes, he’s my older brother.” Ilya put her hand to her hips and smiled. “He taught me my magic whenever he was on leave from the war.”

Everyone looked at her. Lie had backed away, then snapped her fingers. “That’s why I couldn't read you! He must have put a spell on you.” Lie smiled and Ren rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Good job babe.” Lie blushed and looked away. “Wh- What do you mean by reading me?” Ilya frowned. “I've never heard about it before.” “Well you see-” Ren said, about to go on a lecture before Lie cut her off, “It’s some magic from the East. My clan back their basically created it. It lets me read people elements and magic types. If I’m stronger than them I can even read a person's emotions. Some of the elders can even read minds.” Lie laughed. Ren was glaring and took her arm from around the blunette. ‘That’s really cool magic Lie.” Ilya smiled. “All right one more question I think. We’ll have lunch, then you can ask yours.” Ren said looking at her wrist. “Does anyone have any questions?” Lie asked facing the crowd.

There was mumbling for a moment until a small voice in the back called out, “Is she in a relationship?” Ilya froze and blushed. “N-n-n no. I-i I’m not in one right now.” Ilya looked at her lap. “I’ve never been in one before…” Merigold put a hand on her shoulder and whispered to her, “No need to get embarrassed.” She took her hand off her shoulder. “Who asked that? That was you Sarn, wasn’t it? Extra duties for you today. ” “Aww… it was just a question.” “You know the rules like the rest of us, you need to wait to ask those question, at least let her get settled in.” Merigold sighed, “It’s time for duties anyway.”

Everyone started to make their way out of the room until It was just Ilya and Merigold. “You okay, Ilya? They didn't mean to embarrass you.” she put a hand on her shoulder again. “It’s okay. I’m just shocked.” Ilya sat up, Merigold’s hand on her shoulder. “So how does everything work around here? I’m really confused.” Merigold smiled and sat next to her. “Of course, I’ll tell you right away. So the guild is sort of like a school. The younger members, like you, go around to classes taught by senior members and learn more about magic depending on their level of the exam.” “The exam? What’s that?” Merigold smiled. “ It’s exactly as it sounds. It's a practical magic exam. Based on your elements, we run a test to see how strong you are. It’s a lot easier than it sounds. We have one every year. Lucky for you it’s coming up next month, so you’ll have a month to train. If you want, I can give you a practice exam. I’ll be able to get a basic understanding of how strong you, but we won’t know for sure until the exam. Is that okay?” Ilya looked up at Merigold and smiled, “Of course! When can I take it?” Merigold beamed “We can do it right now, let’s step out to the field and see what you can do!”