“This is the administration hall,” Valencia declared. “I know it’s a lot to take in so I’ll give you a moment before we continue.”

At first glance the administration hall was ordinary enough. Vaulted ceilings, art pieces dotted around, ornate vases holding rare flowers, and pillars that supported the extremely wide hallway. It was all polished, but nothing the average nobles' manner didn’t contain. It wasn’t until a man stepped out from what I originally mistook as a large painting that I realized more was going on here.

The image was of a strange landscape. The ground there was purple and there were thick colored trunks, growing up from the ground like trees. Each tree was a different color, but all of them seemed to glow and pulse with energy. It appeared to be night time in the image, but the sky wasn’t just dark, there was a total absence of light. As the man stepped through, the image rippled like the surface of water, then it faded away. Glowing runes on the golden arch around the image faded, and the space inside the arch became like stone.

I was curious about the other world I saw. More than just curiosity, I felt a beckoning. The chain I wore grew hot and heavy around my neck and for an instant the other world appeared again, only this time it was all around me, and the white fox from my dream sat, just out of reach, flicking its tail from side to side.

“Come.” It was a voice I didn’t recognize. I knew only one thing, it wanted me to go through the portal. I was sure now that it would take me to another world, but I didn’t know how to activate, or if I’d be able to get back.

Curios as I was, I went over to touch the surface, wondering mostly what it would feel like. I also weighed the possibility that it might suck me in. Because of that thought, I hesitated, but reasoned with myself that the school would not place something so dangerous in such an easily accessible lotion.

I rejoined the group of students with disappointment when all I felt was the cool roughness of a stone wall.

“The gate is only accessible to a select few. It protects this institution's most valuable secrets.” I thought I heard Ms Nordblum’s voice; However no one else seemed to react to her words and when I looked to confirm she was speaking, she was not. When I managed to make eye contact she smiled gently but otherwise didn’t take her focus from a conversation she was having with a fellow administrator.

‘Am I hallucinating?’ I wondered but quickly pushed the thought from my mind and kept exploring the hall. There was a moving mural spanning the length of the arched ceiling over the hallway; it told the story of king Tristan’s final battle. A story worth remembering for its historical lessons, but the legend didn’t seem like something to be memorialized here.

Five rows of podiums, each holding unique momentos and treasures, were neatly arranged in a smaller hall that split off on the left side. Some floating lamps illuminated portraits that hung behind the outer rows of artifacts. I found myself drawn to images of my favorite hero, hell he was probably everyone’s favorite hero.

Beneath a portrait of Pyro the great, a broken ether blade that had lost all its power, and a fragment of a mask that kind of looked like a rabbit sat together on a podium. The fragment was an oddly shaped piece of wood that had been cut from the base of the left ear down through the center of the left eye and across to the nearly flat snout, then continued straight down. There were some burn marks on the smoothly cut edge indicating that whatever was used to cut the mask was extremely hot. Inscribed below the pedestal where the two unique items sat were the words “hopwood spirit reaper’s remains.”

“So you’ve got an interest in spirit reapers too huh?” Someone said from behind startling me almost enough to make me jump. The boy laughed at my reaction then introduced himself. “I’m Cole, but you don’t have to remember that,” he said while smiling at the ground.

“I’m Fey, and don’t worry, I won’t forget your name.”

Cole smiled then started babbling excitedly. “The reapers are a taboo, but I think that only makes them more interesting. What about you; what’s your interest in them?” He asked while thumbing around the broken edges of the reaper blade.

“I um—”

Fin suddenly crashed into Cole causing the frail looking boy to stumble forward into the podium. I grabbed Cole by the back of his shirt to keep him from falling, and somehow he managed to grasp the reaper blade; but the podium and mask toppled into the next and so on and so on.

Fin stumbled aside and tried to stop himself from falling by grabbing a podium in the next row, but instead both fell, setting off a second set of tumbling heirlooms.

A series of rumbling crashes erupted through the otherwise quiet administrative hall. With each bang and crash the atmosphere became more tense and suffocating. I knew the noise must have grabbed the attention of everyone present, making me wish I had been anywhere else in the room, or perhaps anywhere else in the world.

When the dominoes finally stopped falling I estimated that maybe a hundred or more artifacts had been destroyed. Without looking I knew all eyes were focused in my general direction as everyone tried to identify the root cause of the destruction. I felt bad for Cole, and would’ve spoken up from him if necessary, but didn’t think anyone would take my word.

I prayed I wouldn’t be caught up in whatever punishment was dished out. I couldn’t afford to be expelled, especially not with Kyla stuck as a dust mage.

Fin huffed as he stood and dusted himself off. “How dare you little maggot!” he growled with his finger practically touching Cole’s nose. “You fucking pushed me into the podium. I could have you arrested for putting your filthy hands on me.”

After learning his name and hearing those words I finally understood how he became so pompous. If I was correct about who his father was then Fin was born into only the second most powerful family in Vania. His father ranked among the country's elites as the head of SAFE, a unique police force established to secure territory and keep mages in line. The motto was like an annoying grandparent you couldn’t get away from; in our SAFE society Serenity Abounds For Everyone. No matter where you looked it didn’t take much effort to spot the phrase somewhere, even if it was just a banner or on the side of a pen.

“Careful now, a little more hot air and your head just might pop,” Mai cut in with a cool icy rebuke.

“Shut up! You saw him push me, I know you did.”

“Fin, it’s time you come back down from the clouds. What I saw was you trying to act smooth and instead tripping over your own feet. Then you stumbled into our poor friend Cole who managed to save one of the relics that would’ve otherwise broken because of you.” She smiled with satisfaction as a ten ton bus freighted right over a seething Fin.

“Actually, Ms Garnett, I believe it was your ice that Fin slipped on before causing the avalanche that destroyed my personal collection.” A threatening male voice came thundering through the hall.

The room immediately went completely still and quiet. The building trembled as if even the walls feared the approaching man. Each of his soft steps echoed through the silent hall, sending chills down my spine.

“Are these truly people fit for our first class?” The man asked, addressing no one in particular. “My my my, how the standards have fallen.”

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When the man stepped out from behind a wall of clerks, I felt both terrified and at ease. Seeing Pyro the Great in person was an honor not many could enjoy. Usually the circumstances surrounding such a meeting would likely ruin the moment.

Pyro wasn’t particularly large or extraordinary, and yet he had a presence that seemed to block out everything else. His flaming red eyes felt like they could set you on fire with just a passing glance. He was lean, and unlike Fin who had to display his muscles to feel strong, Pyro just seemed to exude strength. He had a very casual stance and yet even the normal movement of his head as he scanned around the room left me feeling anxious.

“Valencia,” he called, “show me the mission selection for these students.”

Ms Nordblum immediately swiped a small stack of papers from a nearby clerk and handed them to Pyro.

The hero quickly thumbed through the pages, looking more and more displeased with each page he tossed aside. “These are child’s play,” he sighed when he was half way through the stack. Then, tossing the rest of the stack into the air, he frowned and began tapping his foot. There was an uncomfortably long silence but I didn’t dare speak in his presence without invitation.

As the last page landed gently on the floor he spoke again. “I know! You runts can retrieve Lillian’s tear from the hallowed grounds.”

Ms Nordblums face turned a ghostly white and her eyes practically popped out of her head. With a quick look around I could see that several of the staff members seemed startled by the suggestion as well. I’d never heard of such a place, and seeing their reactions, I wondered what kind of place the hallowed grounds could be.

“Yes! Like killing two birds with one stone. You’ll fetch the tear and also investigate the reports of strange activity.” Pyro doubled down before anyone could object.

“Sir, isn't that a bit risky for their first mission?” a bold woman asked from her desk.

“Nonsense. If they can’t handle it then they don’t deserve to be here in the first place,” Pyro shouted, silencing any further objections. Addressing the small group of new students, he said, “Be at the velociter dock in an hour with your things and supplies. Anyone who’s late will automatically be expelled.” With those words he left the hall as regally as he’d entered.

When he was gone it felt like the whole room took a breath as if we’d all been submerged underwater for several minutes and only just now returned to the surface.

“Did we just get our first mission, directly from Heaven’s Flame?” one of the girls asked. Her cheeks were red and she looked ready to faint as she floated about dreamily.

“We can’t send new students to a potential bleed. They could die!” A clerk said to Valencia louder than he probably intended to.

Valencia shot the clerk a silencing scowl. “They will be fine. The hallowed grounds are within the safe zone so enforcers will be close by if needed. I’m sure that’s what Pyro was thinking as well. Now hurry up and get these students ready.”

Ms Nordblum’s words spurred everyone to action. Before I knew it I was in one of two velociters headed towards the Hallowed grounds. Each knight was paired with a Mage, and somehow I wound up partnered with Mai Garnett. I wasn’t against the pairing, but it did cause a bit of drama.

Fin stamped and waved a finger at Valencia. “You can’t stick Mai with him! That nabler can’t even protect himself.”

“Out of all the mages here, Mai is the most capable, I hardly think she needs protecting,” Carletta chimed.

“But he’s inept. How can he possibly qualify as a knight? How did he even get past the measurement?”

“That isn’t your concern, but he did beat an opponent with a spirit relic. So as far as this school is concerned he’s capable of taking down spirit beasts and that means he qualifies,” Valencia replied.

“I actually don’t care who I’m teamed with,” I offered, hoping to end the petty bickering.

“Oh in that case I’ll pair you with Fin,” Valencia smiled.

Immediately both Fin and I yelled, “NO!”

“But you didn’t want him paired with Mai,” Valencia said to Fin, then turned to me. “And you said you don’t care who you’re paired with, have the two of you already changed your mind?”

I didn’t know what to say. It was true that I didn’t care who I was paired with, but that was because I thought it obvious that Fin and I wouldn’t be able to work together. If I had to be his knight, he might kill me while I was trying to protect him from a beast.

Fin sighed, “fine pair him with Mai. At least then she’ll see what a pathetic loser he is.”

“Good, then Byron will be your knight Fin.”

Byron was built like an ox. I wasn’t sure how he wound up a knight because even looking at him, one could guess his elemental affinity. I was willing to bet money on either earth, gravity, or both.

“Whaaaat? No, you can’t be serious? Can’t you give me Sydney?” Fin said, gesturing towards her. “I mean, look at those legs.”

The girl shuddered at his words. Actually all the girls cringed and looked at him disapprovingly.

“I just meant that she’s probably fast, like my lighting,” Fin wasn’t fooling anyone. We all knew what he was thinking.

“Okay, fine… what about you, Carletta? You’ll be my knight won’t you?”

Carletta frowned and stepped away from Fin. “Absolutely not! You’ve been acting like a creep ever since your dad named you his successor. I don’t think any woman would be comfortable working with you.”

That left only Byron. There were only eight of us that passed the entrance exams and the group was split evenly between Knights and First Class mages.

“Sorry, looks like you’re stuck with me,” Byron smiled and held out a hand toward Fin.

Without acknowledging Byron at all, Fin sulked into one of the velociters. Byron silently followed.

The remaining assignments were easy. “Cole, I’ll pair you with…” Valencia paused and looked back and forth between Sydney and Carletta.

“Can you pair me with Carletta?” Cole asked. “We’ve been friends for a long time and trained together so…”

“Alright, Cole. I’ll pair you with Carletta, that means Sydney and Audrey will be the final team.”

Once the pairings had been decided we split into the two velociters which were both loaded with a week's supplies.

Audrey and Sydney were in the same velociter as Mai and I while Fin, Byron, Cole, and Carletta followed behind us in another.

Before leaving we were also issued official Sky Haven uniforms and a CAD. Since it required magic to activate, the CAD was little more than a decoration to me, but since it was considered part of the uniform, I was required to carry one.

“Do you think we’ll all survive this mission?” Audrey asked, breaking the silence and giving voice to thought that had crossed my mind several times.

I kept my mouth shut because those are the kind of thoughts you shouldn’t say out loud.

“Of course we will.” Mai answered.

“Yea, with the eight of us on this mission I’m sure we’ll be fine. If we cover each other’s blind spots and move cautiously there won’t be any problems,” Sydney added in a chipper voice that didn’t match the worry etched on her face.

“I feel like the fact they’re sending eight of us on the same mission indicates how difficult they expect it to be,” Audrey muttered.

“Stop talking like that!” Mai snapped. “Have you ever even been to the Hallowed Grounds? It’s a peaceful place with only a few aggressive beasts that mostly stay underground in a cave network.”

Audrey clicked her tongue. “That’s how it usually is, but they said there’s been reports of abnormal activity and one of the clerks even mentioned a bleed.”

“Yea… I heard. But if there really is a bleed then we’ll call for enforcers and let them handle it. So stop killing the group morale please.”

The two girls locked eyes for a moment then the cab of the velociter fell silent again. I had no idea what a bleed was, but the others seemed to know something about it so I figured everything would turn out fine, however it made me realize that Sven was right about us being sheltered.