"Kai, get up! You'll be late for finals!" 

My sister, Kaya's voice, jolts me from slumber, but I struggle to stay awake.

"Come on, come on! I told you not to study that late!"

"Can't help it, sis," I say, barely managing to keep my eyes open. "I've got to be as ready for the Final Assessment as possible. Kusora's finals are infamously difficult, and you know how bad I am at studying. If I don't read everything carefully, I'll forget it all and the last three years of my education will be a waste!" 

An understatement. If you fail the Final Assessment, you have to start from square one. Another three years.

Kusora Academy of the Arcane Arts. The top school for sorcerers in the Kingdom of Centuros. Known for the number of sorcerers it has produced that have gone on to be High Sorcerer, right hand to the king, over the last seven centuries; In other words: education to be envied by sorcerers throughout the kingdom. And today, I graduate. If I pass.

"It's only been five years since I passed my Final Assessment! You don't have to tell me about the difficulty. Now, go get ready, squirt!"

Squirt. I wish she'd stop calling me that. At eighteen, I can't even remember when it started.

"I'm going, I'm going."

My older sister and I live alone in the Commoners' Quarters. It's been just the two of us for as long as I can remember. Kaya says our parents were adventurers. Our mother was a sorceress of Light. A Holy magic user, often mistaken by her fallen enemies as a simple healer. Our father lacked magic, but he was a reputable swordsman the Knights of Centuros tried to recruit on numerous occasions. Working for the Adventurer's Guild, our parents made up a two-member party called Holy Blade. The strongest duo in Centuros. They accepted a quest to kill a dragon, set out, and haven't been spotted since. I was only three when they left. I always found it odd, considering I'd heard tales of our parents' exploits from the other townspeople and some of their fellow adventurers. A dragon shouldn't have been a problem for the two of them.

I put on my black Academy robes and catch a glimpse of the Kusora insignia in the mirror. It felt like the now all-too-familiar crimson sun looked back at me angrily, as if wanting to know why I was late on such an important day, despite having no face.

Since it was permitted for family members to watch the Final Assessment, Kaya was following — or rather, pushing — me down the main road. It was only sunrise, but people were already out and about in the Commoners' Quarters, most of them on their way to their respective shops, stalls, or cafes.

"So... hey," Kaya says, finally walking next to me and no longer shoving me. "how do you think you're gonna do on the Final Assessment? You always do pretty well on written exams, but you seem to score pretty low on practical ones that require you to cast. The Final Assessment consists of both, you know. Score too low on either and you won't pass."

Damn. It's like she read my mind. Despite how bad I am at studying, I can usually pass written exams with average to high scores, if I put the time into it. But applying that knowledge rarely works. My magic has always been unstable, with no real shape or power behind it. Despite years of trying, I can't properly cast. No matter the attribute, simply feeling your magic and visualizing it is usually enough to produce a visible result, at the very least. But when I try it's the same every time. Nothing visually happens, but I can feel an energy in my hand that feels eerily empty.

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I have an affinity for the Void. It's thought to be a branch family of Dark magic, but I've read theories that it's something else entirely. Some say that the Void is nothing and everything, all at once. But, little is known about this branch of magic. People are rarely born with an affinity for it and the few books that I've managed to find on the element offer little to no explanation. Mostly theories and speculation. I guess it's not easy to explain how to use the power of "nothing". 

"If only I could find a Void grimoire," I mumble to myself before replying to Kaya's previous question, "It'll work out. Somehow." 

Grimoires are books filled to the brim with researched, and usable spells. The number of volumes to a set of grimoire typically equates to the extent a type or branch of magic has been studied and understood. Each volume and its copies are imbued with the magical energy of its affinity. Theoretically, as long as you possess the affinity, and magic capacity, and can visualize the spell's meaning, you can cast it. Chants and incantations aren't necessary in this day and age, though there are sorcerers who retain the traditional way of casting.

But I have two questions. First, how do you visualize nothingness? And, second, do Void grimoires even exist? I certainly haven't found any shops that sell them, and I can't find a single one in Kusora's library. There's so little known about the affinity that I can't imagine anyone has researched any spells that work.

Kaya and I continue making our way down the cobblestone street, greeting familiar stall vendors as we go. Most of them have watched the two of us grow up.

"Time for finals Kai?" A stout, brown-haired woman called to me from a fruit stall. An assortment of apples, bananas, pears, and grapefruits are lined up on the table.

"Caryl!" Kaya runs up to the stall, skirts around it, and lunges at the stall owner, arms outstretched for a hug. Caryl often gave us fruit, either leftover from the day's sales or as freebies. How these apples and pears don't sell out daily, I'll never know. They taste incredible.

"I failed my Final Assessment, and gave up on being a sorcerer." Caryl picks up two apples. A magic circle formed in the palm of her free hand from which water slowly poured, rinsing off the apples. "My magic capacity is low and in the end, I wasn't able to score high enough on the practical portion of the exam, so I opted to help my parents run their stall." She hands us the two apples. Caryl's parents were senior citizens now. They help harvest the fruit, but they've grown tired of haggling with people.

"Sorry, Caryl, I can't help out with the stall today. I'm going to watch Kai's Final Assessment," Kaya beams proudly and punches me in the shoulder, before shoving me along the path once more.

After a few more minutes of walking, we finish off our apples and approach a large gate. This is The Wall. A divider between the Commoners' Quarters and the Noble Realm, completely dividing the kingdom into two halves. Kusora Academy of the Arcane Arts lies directly in the center of the Noble Realm. Discrimination against commoners is rampant. The guards of The Wall only let you pass if you've got a writ of passage, a necessity for any commoners lucky enough to be accepted into Kusora. To my knowledge, there are currently only four other commoners that are in attendance. Myself, included, makes five.

"The other low-born students have already passed through this morning. Lower than low, huh?" A guard snarls at me. I'd ignore him outright if it wouldn't get me flogged.

"Yes, sir, unfortunately, I'm running late because—"

He furrows his unibrow before hissing, "You were only accepted into our esteemed Kusora Academy because you're Holy Blade's brat, and you can't even make it to class on time? The opportunity to attend the Academy is wasted on commoner whelps like you." 

I flash my writ of passage, sealed with the Academy headmaster's insignia. The prejudiced jerk looks at it and shoos me along. My anger was nothing compared to the scowl my sister was now wearing on her face. She quickly showed the jerk her visitor's writ and moved along.

"I still don't understand. Why do the nobles hate us so much?" Kaya asks herself, catching up to me.  Her fists are clenched so tight that her knuckles have turned white. Frustration is to be expected when dealing with nobles as a commoner. I've never met a noble that doesn't look down on commoners for being "low-born". Nobles are supposedly natural talents of magic, while commoners have to study and train harder. While it is true some of us are born with no affinity, I believe that to be utter nonsense. I may personally be bad at studying and can't properly cast, but I've seen my sister take down more nobles in duels than I can count. In addition, our parents were the top-ranked adventurers in Centuros, even though they were commoners.

The main street continues past The Wall, however, the road and buildings are suddenly opulent, almost shiny. I've lost count of how many times the nobles here have looked at me as if I'm less than nothing on my way to classes. Hopefully, this will be the last day I have to experience this.

Kusora comes into view. There are many words you could use to describe the kingdom's oldest academy: elegant, grand, historic, or massive. They are all fitting descriptors. It towers over every other building in the kingdom, except for the castle of Centuros. A testament to its prestigious teachings and the achievements of its alumni. 

Kaya leaves to find a seat in the spectator stands, and I scramble into the courtyard. Luckily enough, they haven't started yet. The headmaster, an old man with a long gray beard, wearing black and gold robes starts to speak. His voice is magically amplified, so that students and onlookers alike can hear his speech. Or... grumbling?

"Hello, hello," The headmaster bellows throughout the absurdly large courtyard. "We will now begin your Final Assessment."