Author's Note:
It's pretty late. I'm almost certain I missed a couple of glaring typos or mishaps. Please bear with me! The next chapter is already finished. I'll put it up in a few.
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Johan's jaw dropped upon reaching the Upper City. A wide cobblestone path stretched forth in front of him, snaking through the lands. Large slate-gray stone buildings lined the path, each with a grand arch upheld by large cylindrical pillars, that stood taller than the tallest tree in the Lower City. The clouds would occasionally travel so low that they kissed the top of the buildings. Johan's heart began to tighten at this sight. It was a far cry from the dirt roads and mudbrick buildings that he knew of his whole life.
There were a considerable amount of students there awaiting instruction. Johan swept his gaze across the crowd. People of all creeds and colors stood there, looking just as nervous as he felt. He clenched his fist, and took a seat just outside of the crowd. Although the crowd was very talkative, no one even looked at Johan. He was still dressed in rags from Fallon's Orphanage, which made people think twice about associating with him.
After 3 hours of waiting, the last students arrived. Johan heard a commotion from the people at the front of the crowd and stood up, trying to find the cause. Then a sonorous voice boomed out from in front of them.
"Welcome to the Academy," the voice said. "I'm Viktor Yul, the Headmaster."
Johan tried to peer over the students, but there were too many of them. Viktor was efficiently hidden from Johan's sight by the mass of bumbling students in front of him. Johan curled his lip in frustration and backed away from the crowd.
"First things first, let's go to Long Hall for something to eat," Viktor said.
They walked along the cobblestone path to Long Hall, which happened to be one of the closest buildings to their location. With each step Johan took towards the building, the hearty aroma of hot stew became stronger. He began to salivate uncontrollably. The only major meal he had in the last day or two was a single apple.
The students shuffled into the building and spread out to make room. Long Hall was filled with the scent of cooked meat, hot stew, and steamed vegetables. A rogue winded carried that scent throughout the whole room, carefully wafting past Johan's nose as if to entice him. He wondered what it would be like to eat a hearty meal at a place like this every day.
"Take a seat wherever you like," Viktor said. "And don't be shy. You'll be in each others company for years to come!"
Johan darted forward and took a seat closest to the entrance at the the long mahogany table in front of him. The noise of chairs scraping and forks falling echoed throughout the hall as students stormed the tables. Johan looked at the front of the room and saw a stock dwarf standing with his hands behind his back, calmly watching everything unfold; he immediately knew this to be Viktor.
Vitkor had long curly blood-red hair that was tied into a neat braid. The lower half of his face was covered with a bushy red beard that dropped down to his chest, also tied into a braid. His hairy arms were as thick as tree trucks, marked with faint pink scars, and his molten-yellow eyes gleamed with intelligence and cunning.
"Once again, I would like to welcome you to the Academy," he said. "It's my pleasure to welcome such a wonderful group of promising students! Give yourselves a round of applause for making it this far."
Viktor led the clap, and then all of the students at the table began cheering and clapping along. Johan sat quietly at the table with an eerie stillness, watching Viktor closely. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Johan quickly wilted under the pressure of his gaze, and looked away.
"This Academy is one of the leading schools on the Arcane Arts and, as our students, you'll learn how to bend the universe to your will! In this world, might is right. When you leave our Academy, you'll have the might to do anything you want in life." he grabbed a nearby cup of water and drank it whole.
"Our goal here is to prepare you for the real world. As such, the faculty is here primarily to serve as guides. You all will plan the events. You all will police the campus. You all will manage the Houses. You all will hand out punishments, within reason. We give you the power to run your lives, and it's up to you decide whether or not you will let that power control you," he said, and then paused for effect.
"However, the faculty will be here to lend a helping hand, should you all run into trouble. Enough talk. You'll learn more about our academy in due time," he snapped his fingers.
A group of elves, humans, and titans rushed out of a room to his right. They pushed large carts that were packed with food.There were large roasted chickens, pots of stew and soup, warm white rice littered with spices, steamed potatoes, sliced pumpkin, bowls of fruit, and more. Johan stared slack-jawed at the approaching delicacies. Saliva fell out of his mouth like water from a faucet.
"Betcha never seen so much food in your entire life, have you," a nearby student said to him, laughing.
Johan snapped out of his fantasy, his face turning red. He wiped his mouth and leaned back in his chair, trying to ignore the laughter. The servants walked from table to table, placing large platters of food down, allowing the students to serve themselves. Johan ignored etiquette and tore at the food in front of him with reckless abandon. The students around him shook their head and laughed.
An hour later, everyone had finished eating and began talking to each other. Johan was slumped in his chair, groaning meekly. He couldn't remember the last time he had a full stomach. There was a hush, and then suddenly the entrance doors opened and nine people walked in. Five of the people wore purple robes with their cowls pulled down. Four of them were youths that wore casual clothing and walked with an air of dominance. They walked to the front of the hall and stood by Viktor.
"These," Viktor said while gesturing the five robed people to step forth. "Are your teachers. They will be your guidance, your support, and your family for the next chapter of your life."
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The first robed figure padded forth and said, "I'm Ansley Barnett, and I'll be teaching you about Divine Speech. I also serve as the Housemaster for Brienne House."
The second robed figure meekly shuffled forth and said, "I'm Kana Mori, and I'll be teaching you about Faith. Please take care of me."
"I'm Wolfe Zachary. You'll learn scribing from me," the third robed figure said curtly.
The fourth robed figure eased forward and said, "I'm Keene Ulrich. I'll help you understand your Spark. I also happen to serve as the Housemaster for Junpei House."
The last robed figure quickly stepped forward and said, "I'm Reid Hughes. I'll teach you about the vast history of mana!"
What's he so excited about?
"Give your teachers a warm welcome," Viktor said and then paused to allow the students to give a round of applause. Then he gestured behind him to the youths that just walked in and said, "These four are the prefects of our houses. It would be wise to obey them, because they are the ones that can either make your stay a pleasant one, or make you wish you never came here."
The first youth stepped forth and said, "I'm Dixon Jean of Brienne House. I hope we all get along famously."
The second youth stepped forth and said, "I'm Than Guthrie of Cathal House."
The third youth stepped forth and said, "I'm Kenta Watanabe of Junpei House. I urge you to work hard and make the most of your time here! It'll be your best years, even though sometimes it'll feel like your worst!"
The fourth youth stepped forth and said, "I'm Paige Otis of Fergal House. We'll get along just fine as long as you don't undermine me."
Viktor clapped his hand and said, "Well, that's that. On the back of each of your plates is a name. That will be the house that you will be assigned to."
Johan flipped his over and read 'Fergal House'. He looked up from his plate and stared at Paige. She was tall for a human, reaching nearly 6 feet in height. She stood stone still, with her hands rigidly behind her back and her feet shoulder-width apart. She had a thin waist that led to hips that were just wide enough to pull off a coke bottle figure. Her soft lips were a faint cherry-pink color, pressed into thin lines. Her midnight-black hair tumbled down her shoulders in free fall and her crystal clear blue eyes looked as if they could peer into your soul.
"Alright, now it's time for each of you to personally meet your prefects. Please head on outside," Viktor said, and then led the Prefects out.
Johan tore his eyes away from Paige and left with the rest of the students. They were made to stand in four separate groups, each group filed into neat lines. Each prefect stood in front of their respective group. There were only about 25 people in Johan's group.
"We're going to the dorm to get you all situated," Paige said, then spun around and briskly walked away. The group scrambled to follow her.
They arrived in front of Fergal House in short time. The entrance was an arched doorway with the statue of a human with a majestic spear. Paige spun around, pulled out a thick little pouch from her belt, and then said, "Okay, line up. When you approach me, give me your name and then reach into the pouch and pull out a single envelope. Each envelope will have your room number and the matching key."
Within a few minutes, Johan reached the front of the line. He observed Paige closely; she had a majestic air about her. Even though she was shorter and looked more attractive than dangerous, he was sure that she could beat him up with ease.
"Johan," he said while holding her gaze. She stared back at him, faintly amused. He pulled an envelope out of her pouch and stepped away.
"Listen up! Boys and girls are separated in the House. Each floor is split in half, with one side for each sex. You lot will be on the first floor. If you are caught sneaking into the other side, you will be punished. If you are caught trying to pressure my girls, you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?" she said.
The students all agreed, taken aback by her domineering attitude. Johan thought nothing of it and entered the building. His peers darted around him left and right, filled with a seemingly limitless amount of energy. One of them glanced at Johan and said, "Hope I don't have to room with that guy." People around him began to laugh. Johan just let out a heavy sigh.
Everyone who insults me... I'll remember each of your faces.
He hesitantly opened the door to his room, and was greeted by emptiness. The room was devoid of all personality; the walls were painted an off-white color and the only objects in the room were three naked beds. The window was open, letting a cool breeze drift in, cooling off Johan's clammy hands. He heaved a sigh of relief and walked over to his bed. Just as he was about to lay down, someone knocked on his door. He opened it and saw his sponsor impatiently staring back at him.
"Take these," the sponsor said. "I can't have you walking around the school looking like that. On that note, there's a bathing area down the hall, go clean yourself."
Johan received a bag of clothes, and three aged arcane books, and 5 gold coins. He froze in shock and tried to stammer out a response.
"Th—"
"Class starts in 5 days. If you don't finish the year among the top 20 students in your class, I'm pulling my support and making you my slave. Don't disappoint me," sponsor said, and then walked off.
Johan stood still for a couple of minutes, staring at the arcane books in front of him. One of the books was titled, "On The Practice of Cultivation". With shaking hands, Johan lifted the book and flipped through the pages.
My life... is officially starting!
He immediately began reading the book and trying to understand it's contents. He would read a chapter, try out the exercises, and then reread it again with the intention of memorizing it before continuing onto the next chapter. He spent the next 8 hours going through half of the book before he succumbed to sleep.