The boys' common room was nothing special, it was nearly the same as the Saloon expect that it was smaller and it didn’t contain any pictures of female Mages, only of male Mages. There was a large fireplace in the corner of the room, next to the large glass windows. From the common room there were four doors which led to the bedrooms.
When Jon and Adam arrived, there were only a few of the older students still awake, sitting and chatting around the fireplace. They were told by them that each year had its own bedroom, so they entered the bedroom for the first years and found two free beds and their luggage neatly placed next to each bed. There were two other boys already sleeping in the other two beds, so Jon and Adam didn’t want to wake them up and just used a lamp to rummage through their belongings, change into their pajamas and each claimed a free bed and tried to fall asleep. Jon thought there was no way either one of them would oversleep as tomorrow at eight o’clock in the morning their first lesson starts, and he was feeling way too excited to miss it. As he drifted to sleep, he thought of his grandmother back at home and how she must have felt. This was the first time that he was gone for a long time ever since she took care of him and with her health deteriorating, he felt remorse at leaving her by herself but ultimately it didn’t sway him from his ultimate goal; learn to use magic to protect himself and his newfound friends and also to learn more about his family. Now Jon would fall asleep and wake up at exactly seven in the morning...
...and they still overslept. Both of them jumped up, and while Jon took it somehow reasonable, Adam was fuming. He nearly turned the bedroom upside down and punched the wall with the back of his fist, leaving behind a small crack, which shocked Jon and made him feel intimidated.
“I can’t believe this! I always get up at six since our mom always made sure we all got up early to help her at the farm. And while the train ride was long, it’s nothing compared to a hard day of labor back at home...” Adam was sulking as the two boys got dressed up. They each found a black robe neatly folded over their drawer. Jon inspected it and when he unfolded it, it was clear as day what it was.
“Woah, this is a Mage robe. And we already get to wear it on our first day. Come on, let’s put it on.” And so they did over their regular clothes, but rather clumsily and roughly.
“Let’s go now, we’re already late.” Adam hurried him as the two teenagers leapt out of the boys’ common room and dorms and found themselves in the main hall where they came to a halt.
“Wait, where the heck are we even supposed to go? Just go and search from class to class, room to room? We’re only going to get into more trouble.” Adam sounded slightly panicked as Jon took a deep breath and looked around themselves. He couldn’t hear nothing, no sound to follow. The situation was only getting worse. Late on their first day? That’s a sure ticket to get expelled...
“Hey kids, you’re not in class? Are you not feeling well?” A faded voice struck them from behind.
Peter McClellan, the old janitor of the Academy waved at them as he was walking over from the entrance with a broom in his hands. When he approached them, he had a slightly worried look on his face.
“Mr. McClellan, you, we, uhm...” Adam pointed to all directions, trying to say something coherent but failing dramatically.
“Wait a second, don’t tell me you’re playing hooky on first day of school? And on top of that, in your first year? That’s a very bad sign, young fellas...” McClellan shrugged his shoulders as Adam grew paler, but Jon decided it was time to take over control.
“We overslept and we apologize. Now can you please tell us where the first years are having their lessons, Mr. McClellan?” Jon asked as he glanced at the broom that the janitor was holding.
“I understand now, no worries kiddos, I got you. Now you two go up these stairs and find the third room to the right, that’s where your fellow first-years are now.” McClellan said casually as he started to clean the red carpet which was stretched all over the main hall.
“Thank you so much, Mr. McClellan, see you later. Let’s go Adam.” Jon then leapt up the stairs and after a second of appearing locked in time, his friend followed after him. They went past the Saloon and found the third room to the right and when they calmed themselves down as best as they could, Jon knocked on the door several times.
He had expected yelling or an annoyed voice telling them to come in, begrudgingly, but there was no response. Looking over at Adam, who just shrugged, Jon knocked several times and after still getting no answer, he opened the door and went in.
The door was located at the end of the classroom and there were tables and chairs for one student each. At the front was the biggest table and the biggest chair which was reserved for the Professor. There was also a large blackboard behind the Professor’s table and to the side were several large wardrobes which contained many scrolls and wands. When Jon and Adam entered, the other first-years immediately turned their backs around and watched on as the two latecomers stumbled forward and took the last two seats, next to one another. They could both feel Kawada’s amusing smirk and the scornful gaze of Artemis pierced into their heads as they looked around them as if inspecting their surroundings.
“You two are unbelievable, how can you be late on the first day of school?! Do you want to get expelled before even starting?!” Artemis whispered through her braced teeth and her face was crimson as she was fuming while some of the other first-years stifled a laugh. Amber, the fiery girl with red hair who stood up to Kawada yesterday, just nodded at the late coming duo as she was tapping her fingers against the wooden table.
“I’m surprised you two even showed up, a war criminal and a peasant ape, what a combination.” Kawada taunted Jon and Adam, but they ignored him as the Professor was now standing up.
“So, you two are late, huh? Only about fifteen minutes. But I was also late, in fact I only arrived a minute or two before you, so it would be hypocritical of me to reprimand you. Don’t worry, you won’t be punished.” Professor Albert Meadow explained as he leaned against his table and crossed his arms. Adam looked at Kawada, who was sitting right across the Professor, and grinned at him, which caused Kawada to scoff. He was clearly expecting for the two of them to get punished for being late but to his dismay, nothing came of it.
“Now, since you’re all here, we can begin. My name is Albert Meadow and I’ll be your Arcane Magic Professor. We’ll see each other every Monday from eight to twelve, four hours of lecture and practice of course. The school system works like this; there are six subjects, all related to Magic of course, and from Monday to Saturday you’ll have one subject each, for four hours. Sundays will either be free, or we’ll have special programs or trips, you’ll always be notified beforehand. Any questions?”
Meadow wasn’t even half finished in his speech when Artemis’ hand flew straight up, startling some of the students. Who else but her, Adam whispered to Jon, who giggled, but Artemis had a very impatient look on her face.
“Yes?” Meadow answered as he rubbed his eyes.
“You said that we’ll only have six subjects, one each day. Why so few? I was expecting at least thirty subjects and-”
“THIRTY?! Are you out of your mind woman?” Adam gasped as he raised his hands which caused a wave of laughter to spread around the classroom and Artemis blushed and narrowed her eyes at Adam annoyingly.
“I can see that some of you have strong opinions on this matter. The number of subjects has fluctuated over the decades but us professors along with the headmistress have decided on this fixed number of subjects several years ago to simplify the system for everyone, but I assure you all, you won’t learn any less than the previous generations who had more or different subjects. Any more questions?”
Nobody seemed to raise a hand. Artemis looked sad as she had expected many more subjects to study but she had to be satisfied with six for now.
“None. All right then, I want you all to get up, one by one and introduce yourselves. From left to right.” Meadow said as he yawned and covered his mouth with his palm.
To Jon’s and Adam’s immense dismay, the first student to get up was Kawada. He looked around the classroom, swiped the few strands of hair that were hanging over his forehead upward and took a deep breath.
“My name is Jason Kawada and I hail from New Yorkshire. I come from two very different cultures, one Eastern and one Western, since my father is from Nippon while my mother is from Amerika. Both sides of my family descend from nobility and are very respected in both magic and non-magic circles, unlike some individuals here,” and with this, Kawada glanced at Jon, with a faint smile, Adam even attempted to get up, but Jon stopped him on time, “my father Takeo Kawada is a member of the Magus Council, the highest form of authority in the world of Mages. I intend to make my father proud and become the top student in my class. Thank you.” Kawada nodded as he sat down and glanced at Artemis, who was looking at him with concern written on her face. She didn’t seem to like his constant taunting and belittling of Jon and his family and was still thinking of ways to prevent this from occurring.
As Kawada sat down, next to get up was the dark-skinned boy who had sided with Kawada and Lara during the last night. He was the tallest first-year student, even taller than Adam, and his piercing gray eyes intimidated Jon and several other students.
“Darius Bakole. I was always alone, living from orphanage to orphanage, each worse than the last one, but I managed to stay alive and succeed by fighting my way to the top. That’s why I always seek the company of powerful individuals, like Jason here. I will strive to be the best Mage possible, whatever it takes.” Bakole sat down and while Artemis and some other first-years had an uneasy look on their faces, Professor Meadow just glanced at him with casual indifference. No doubt he had already seen these types of cold and calculating characters during his decades-long career.
Jon watched on with caution and great care as the rest of his classmates stood up and introduced themselves. He knew he would be the last to do it, after Adam and he was preparing himself mentally on how to best present himself to his class. After the hostile welcome from last night and from the gossip in the train ride towards here, he had an uncanny feeling that something was going to go wrong.
Elias Frost was a tall and slender boy with pale skin, icy blue eyes and spiky silver hair with teal streaks which seemed to shimmer in light. He almost always had a bored expression on his face. Frost explained how he comes from a long line of Ice Mages but unlike the Phoenix family, the Frost family is well-regarded in the Magic community. Jon envied him because of this fact. Why couldn’t his own family be so respected like the Frost family?
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When Artemis introduced herself, Jon saw Lara looking at her with a look full of hate and contempt. Was she actually being jealous of her? Yesterday, Lara was acting as if she had never seen Jon before, completely ignoring his existence. She couldn’t have noticed then that Jon and Artemis became friends, unless she was listening to them the whole time and deduced it. But Lara had chosen her side when she allied with Kawada, Bakole and...
...Genna Malone, the fourth member and the other girl of their group which confronted Jon and his friends. Similar to Elias Frost, Genna also came from an old and prestigious Mage family but hers was much more related to Jon because the Malone family helped bring down the Phoenix family in the past, becoming the new favored Mage family of the late Solan Empire and thus Genna Malone had a special amount of disdain towards Jon which was clearly evident in her every action and gesture.
Lara Holloway... Jon had known everything about her or at least he thought he knew. She didn’t even say the name of her hometown, apparently out of fear or shame of people associating her with Jon since they come from the same place, went to the same school and attended the same class. Artemis remained calm and collected during Lara’s introduction, but Adam was once again heated. Seeing Adam angry made Jon glad that he was on his side.
Annabelle Ferguson or better known by her nickname ‘Amber’ was as energetic as any individual before her. She disliked her real name and would get angry when someone used it to address her instead of using her nickname. She had unexpectedly become a part of Jon’s friend group by standing up to and taunting Kawada, much to Adam’s amusement and Jon’s bewilderment while Artemis seemed more wary of her. Understandably so, since Artemis and Kawada were childhood friends. Amber explained how her father was a soldier in the army and her parents were divorced with her mother leaving her daughter to her father who was often traveling as he was getting deployed all around the country and even outside Britannia’s borders. Because of her turbulent life and constant moving, Amber had great difficulty making any friends or permanent bonds, so she grew up as a tomboy and a very able and fast-learning girl and due to her father being a single parent who barely had time for anything not military related, Amber was mostly used to going solo and disregarding other people’s needs. That’s what surprised Jon the most, Amber’s willingness to immediately make friends on her arrival here.
Gordon Hawke came from the neighboring country of Irland and seemed like a very cheerful fella or bloke, as he introduced himself. He was slightly shorter than Jon, with curly ginger hair, very pale complexion with freckles and blue eyes. He had two friends who he met on the train yesterday and they quickly became best friends, just like Jon, Adam and Artemis.
Caleb Norwood was one of those two friends. He was just one centimeter shorter than Hawke, had light-brown skin, short bushy dark hair, brown eyes and wore square glasses. He proudly introduced himself as a book nerd, giving Artemis some real competition.
Esteban Laguna was the last part of this trio. Just as Caleb was one centimeter shorter than Hawke so was Laguna one centimeter shorter than Caleb. He had olive skin color, long dark hair that fell down his neck and heterochromia-meaning that his right eye was blue while his left was green. While Hawke appeared to be the goofy and Caleb the smart one, Laguna apparently saw himself as the ‘cool’ guy, a real ladies' man. All the time he was explaining about himself and how he came from a corn farm and knew how to ride horses, he was glancing and winking at the girls in class but unfortunately for him neither of the girls seemed to notice or acknowledge him in the slightest.
Miria Moonwell was the shortest girl and overall, the shortest student in class, even shorter than Artemis. She had a petite build, long silver hair which was further tied into many smaller braids, large green eyes, freckles all over her small face and chipped front teeth. Miria was a very timid girl who stuttered during the entire time she was speaking. Adam whispered to Jon that she was probably shy and nervous, but Jon suspected that she was always talking like this.
Nora Everett was the tallest girl in class, even taller than Jon, around the same height as Kawada and Frost but shorter than Bakole and Adam. She had a lean build, with light-brown skin, yellow eyes and long, flowing green hair which she styled in a single braid and the top of her hair, including her ears were hidden behind a black bandanna which she firmly tied behind her head. Nora explained how she grew up in a natural environment, in a small village surrounded by lush forests where she developed a deep connection to nature and animals. Jon could instantly feel a good vibe from her as he liked her empathy and compassion which she showed towards animals in her introduction. It was good knowing that not everyone was like Kawada and Bakole.
The last girl to introduce herself was Xun Cai. Her family came from the most populous country in the world, Kitayska, which was located up far north in Pangaea, but found their luck here in Britannia as both of them worked as translators for the many immigrants that found themselves here. Cai was a short and chubby girl, slightly shorter than Artemis, with light-brown skin, medium-length dark hair which was kept in place by several hair clips and an upwards ponytail and brown eyes. Her Britannian language was very good and fluid and neither the professor nor the students had any trouble understanding her, which was especially impressive when considering the fact that Britannia and Kitayska had very differing languages and alphabets.
It was time for the two latecomers. Adam stood up confidently as he started explaining about his life, even mentioning his older sister with whom he wasn’t on best terms.
“So, we have to deal with two peasants here?” Kawada whispered to Bakole behind his back as he snickered, but Meadow slammed his fist against his table, startling everyone.
“Shut up Kawada. You can continue Kenton.” Meadow looked sideways at Kawada under his eye and Kawada appeared perplexed as if getting offended from someone telling him to shut up. He sure had a high opinion of himself.
“Uh, that’s it, I guess. I don’t know what else to say, sir.” Adam scratched his head as he caught Artemis giggling at him.
“Fine then. We have one student left...”
As Adam sat down, Jon stood up with a deep sigh. He prayed this would end soon so they could start the proper lesson as he hated being in the spotlight, especially if that spotlight was negative.
“My name is Jonathan Phoenix... and I come from a small town located in the southern part of our country called Smallshire. Our friend Lara here also comes from the same town, I don’t know why she didn’t mention it. Regardless, I’m very honored to be here and I’ll make sure that I make my family proud.” Jon sat down as his breathing fastened. He put special emphasis on his family name when introducing himself and felt an unusual amount of pride. What he said about Lara, those words just came out of his mouth. Jon glanced around him, and he could see the astonished faces of Adam and Artemis, and even Amber was aghast while Lara’s face was red, but she still wasn’t looking at Jon.
“That should be it then, you can sit down Jonathan. So, we have fifteen first years here, eight boys and seven girls, each different with their own goals. I have a feeling that this generation of first years will be something else but only time will tell.” Meadow smirked as he started to walk around the classroom while the confused students were still wrapping their heads around Jon’s introduction speech.
As Professor Albert Meadow adjusted his suit and outfit and pulled back some rebelling hair strands, he stopped walking and was now standing in front of the blackboard, looking directly at his students.
“Earlier I mentioned that I’ll teach you Arcane Magic. Well, what is Arcane Magic? Does anyone know?”
Artemis raised her hand first, being slightly faster than Caleb and Kawada.
“Arcane Magic is the purest form of Magic known. It embodies the abstract and unknown element of the magical properties that have been taught and discovered my Mages through history. While at first glance the simplest type of Magic, its seemingly simplicity must not be corroborated to its effectiveness. In the right hands and with sufficient knowledge, experience and skill, Arcane Magic can both be the most harmless or dull and the most devastating and deadliest from of Magic.” Artemis said in a very calm manner causing some of her classmates to gasp. Laguna and Nora were especially impressed.
Jon sensed that Adam had a headache trying to understand what Artemis was saying as he narrowed his eyes at her and tried to deduce her words. While Jon knew that Artemis was a huge book worm, her knowledge still surprised him.
“Oh my, looks like we have a future professor here. That was excellent, Miss. Barclay. I couldn’t have said it better than myself, so I won’t add anything more to that. Instead, we’ll step right to the practical part.”
Professor Meadow snapped his fingers and a rather large and loud spark of bluish-purple energy erupted, causing the students closest to him to get startled and lean back a bit.
“This was a quick burst of Arcane Magic, just for demonstration. Of course, you won’t be able to do such a large one with just snapping your fingers yet, it’ll take time to get there. Also don’t mind the color. It usually ranges from light and dark blue to purple. The color of the Magic doesn’t mean much beyond cosmetic reasons, it just varies from user to user. Now, I want all of you to focus, deep and calmly, and try doing what I did; snap your fingers to produce a burst of Arcane Magic.”
And soon the whole classroom was filled with the sounds of fingers snapping. Some louder than the others, but there was no Magic. Adam even tried using both of his hand but to no avail.
“The beginning is never easy, don't forget that. You have to be patient. Don’t give up kids.” Meadow said as he strolled through the classroom and watched on the frustrated finger-snapping youngsters trying their best to cast their first Magic.
The first one to produce a spark was Kawada. Darius patted his shoulder as Genna and Lara nodded at him. Jon and Adam were furious while Artemis looked uncertain.
“Was there ever any doubt that I’d be the first one? Already the best and it’s just the beginning.” Kawada bragged as the other students continued to snap their fingers but this time much more patiently.
As Kawada’s sparks grew, Artemis, Lara, Elias and Nora also produced their sparks. One by one, the other students also produced their sparks in various colors and sizes; Jon, Kawada, Amber, Artemis and Lara had the biggest while Elias, Laguna, Nora and Genna could produce the most in rapid fashion. Hawke, Caleb, Darius, and Miria created modest sparks; Cai had the smallest, but one student couldn’t produce any sparks no matter what.
“Darn it! Why doesn’t it work?” Adam was snapping both of his hands’ fingers so hard and fast that they almost caught fire. Professor Meadow approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Take it easy, Adam. Not everyone can create a spark on their first day. It’s not the end of the world. You’re not the first nor the last to have problems casting Magic. Just try to push deeper and remain calm.”
Adam took a deep breath and continued to snap his fingers, this time slower and more focused but still to no avail. Jon saw Kawada and Bakole snickering as they made whispered remarks to one another. No doubt that they were making fun of Adam but this time they kept it silent as not to have Meadow reprimand them again. Jon had hoped this immature behavior wouldn’t have an effect on his best friend.
* * *
The dining room was located on the first floor, down the boys’ dormitory. It was a big and neatly decorated room with four large tables, one for each year, and next to the dining room was the kitchen. To Jon’s disappointment, there was no Magic which could create food or drinks, everything had to be manually made with human hands.
It was fifteen-past-twelve when their first class had ended, and it was time for lunch. The first years were the last to arrive at the already crowded dining room. They were met my mock cheers and whistling from their seniors and Jon and Adam couldn’t help but burst out laughing. They felt like they had arrived from a championship-winning game.
“So childish and immature...” Artemis scoffed as they all sat down at their table. They weren’t sitting together, instead they split into several groups. Closest to the door were Kawada, Darius, Genna and Lara, Elias and Amber were sitting by themselves, Gordon, Caleb and Laguna sat together, Miria, Nora and Cai were another group and finally at the very end Jon, Adam and Artemis.
“I find it funny, it’s like a rite of passage, us being the new guys. We’ll be doing the same thing next year to the juniors.” Adam chuckled as he started to devour the boiled potatoes and chicken wings in front of him.
“I definitely won’t, that’s for sure. Besides, there are other things that should concern you more, Adam. For example, you’re the only student in our class who wasn’t able to produce any Magic. Doesn’t that bother you at all?” Artemis sighed as she used a knife and fork to separate the meat from the potatoes and looked at the white toast that was lying sliced in a basket in front of them.
“No’ re’y, I me’, you hea’ what Mea’ said. It’s ju’ the begin’, I just ne’ to keep try’.” Adam said, struggling to speak coherently with his mouth full of food.
“Ugh, meat...” Artemis moved the chicken wings to the right side of her plate with her knife.
“You don’t eat meat?” Adam asked as he glared at the separated chicken wings in her plate.
“No, for two years now, after I found out how inhuma-”, but her words got cut off by Adam grabbing her chicken wings and started to gnaw on them to Jon’s giggling.
Artemis groaned as they continued their meal. At first Jon was annoyed having to hear them argue constantly but now his perception had changed. It filled him with some odd sense of coziness that he couldn’t describe. As if he had known them all of his life even though he had just met them.
“Why did you do that Jon?” Artemis broke the silence which was filled with the cluttering of knives, forks and spoons.
“Do what?”
“You know precisely what. When you were introducing yourself at Professor’s Meadow’s class, you mentioned Lara and how you came from the same hometown. Was that really necessary?” Artemis had just finished wiping her mouth with a napkin as she adjusted her glasses and stared into Jon.
“Why, should I be scared of her? Is that what you’re suggesting? I just said the truth, nothing else. Not my fault that she’s ignoring me.” Jon narrowed his eyes. His good mood was getting shattered quickly.
“Oh, come on Jon, I knew what you were trying to do. It’s not a good thing to make enemies so early in your education-”
“But she was the one who-”
“I know, but still. You have to be better than her. That’s exactly why she’s ignoring you this whole time, I suspect it’s some sort of psychological power play by her-”
“Or by Kawada...” Adam added offhandedly as he leaned on the table and put his chin over his crossed arms.
“I don’t think Jason has anything to do with it. They became friends, just like we did. Along with Darius and Genna. They’re classmates after all.”
“Of course she uses his first name, even after all the insults he hurled towards me and Jon... you still like him that much, I mean, he was and is your past and current classmate, right?” Adam added in a low voice, but he wasn’t looking at Artemis. Instead, he was glaring under his eyes at Kawada and Bakole laughing and talking with Lara and Genna.
“Talking to me in third person? I’m sitting right here... you’re such a jerk, I hate you!” Artemis stood up so abruptly that she hit the table with her knees, causing the dishes to clatter, nearly tripping over her long Mage robes and furiously stomping out of the dining room and surprisingly causing some ruckus despite her small stature. Jon also noticed her eyes getting wet behind her large round glasses.
“First day of school, what an unforgettable experience, eh buddy?” Adam said, more to himself than to Jon, as he continued to stare at Kawada’s group who stopped their conversation and looked at the angry Artemis storming out.
“You can say that twice.” Jon scratched his cheek. Suddenly he envied Amber and Elias who were sitting all by themselves, not having to deal with these conflicts and emotional drama. But at least he had learned his first Magical skills; how to produce sparks of Arcane Magic by snapping his fingers.