“Your name is Michael?” I asked.
“Yes, it is. Why are you suprised? I thought someone told you.” Michael said, unsure of my confusion.
“No reason. I’m guessing that you are my roommate.” I said with a small sigh. I had hoped that I would have some more time before he came.
“You would be correct. I was surprised that someone was here already though. I figured I would have been the first one.” He said with a goofy smile. He seems like the kind of person who was everyone's’ best friend. He had a good personality, t least from what I have seen, and looked pretty good compared to the majority of the population. Although blonde hair was quite rare in any species, so he stood out quite a bit. Not that I can talk, I have white hair which is even rarer.
“I suppose I haven’t properly introduced myself yet. My name is Michael Bonum. I’m from the distant lands of the demon kingdom. Although I’m not quite sure what I really am.” He said while extending his hand. I shook it but was still surprised that he was from the demon kingdom. They very rarely had anybody who looked so similar to a human after awakening. Because of that I know what he means by not knowing what he is.
“You can just call me Luc. My real name is Lucifer Udev, but that might offend some people. I’m from the kingdom of Lux in the angel’s territory.” I said. Michael looked at me for a second before nodding in agreement. Before I left I read a little bit and learned that Lucifer an angel who betrayed God and left with the Fallen One into the depths of hell. Some have speculated that the Fallen One and Lucifer are one in the same, but because they are stories and no evidence has been found I refer to them as separate beings. In my readings I also learned that people may take offense to the name in reference to the Fallen One.
I did not realize that before i named myself that, but I do not believe I would have named myself anything else. Although to be on the safe side, I just shortened it to make sure I didn’t offend anybody. You never know, a high ranking member of society may frown upon the name and not allow me access o certain things because of it.
“Luc, huh. I’m sure we will be good friends.” Michael said while turning to his bed and putting his suitcase on it. It was when he turned around I saw a small mark climbing up his neck. It looked similar to my mark, but instead of being pitch black it seemed to glow in a pale light.
He turned around rather abruptly, just in time to see me looking at the mark.
“Guess that wouldn’t go unnoticed for long.” He said with a resigned smile.
“Don’t worry, it's not contagious or anything.” I guess that most people who saw it thought it to be a mark of a disease or something.
“I know. I have one similar on my back except it’s black.” I said. I could see a flash of surprise mark his face.
“That’s the very time I have met anyone who has claimed to have a mark similar to mine.” He said. I could hear a hint of skepticism mar his voice. You could definitely tell he was going through puberty. His voice sometimes cracked and iy occasionally has a higher pitch.
“Really. I do have one. I got it just after entering my mind for the first time after awakening.” I told him that just to show him I knew when I got and was just not making this up as I went along to make him feel better.
He slightly raised his eyebrows before bursting out laughing.
“I guess you aren't lying. The same thing happened to me. I saw these weird pictures but couldn’t hear anything and then I found a strange mark on my neck.” Michael said, still laughing.
“That’s also what happened to me.” I told him.
“Well I have got to get finished unpacking or I’ll never get to it.” He said while turning back to his bag.
“I also have to do it.” I said as I walked toward my bed with my bag lying right beside my trunk.
We spent the next ten minutes or so unpacking our very mager belongings. Michael had about the same amount of possessions I had, very little.
I talked with him and learned that he was adopted when he was 4 years old by a nice demon family. No one in the family had ever awakened and did not know what do to do when he awoke. They contacted some friends of theirs who had dealt with it before, and with their help Michael was able gain a greater control of his magic and purify it more. Because he was very good at it they suggested that he take Drudania Academy’s examination and to their endless surprise and delight, he passed.
He told me that he was of the light element, but he wasn’t positive because the way people described the light element seemed to be a little bit different from his. He guessed that his element was actually a variant of the light element, but wasn’t positive.
Michael said he knew where the dining hall was, so I could only follow him as we went to eat.
The minute I saw the dining hall, there was no doubt in my mind that it was Drudania Academy’s. It was massive and even the tables seemed to be made of the expensive material that could be found everywhere in the academy. I saw in food bars and could only fathom the amount they spent on food each day. It had the best quality fruit and vegetables and meals that looked like they were made by culinary masters. If I hadn’t known it as a regular day, I would have thought a massive celebration for a king was being held here.
I talked with Michael throughout dinner and learned that, socially, he was ostracized, even though he was nice. It turned out he looked too different from his classmates, so they tended to ignore him or bully him. He did not really care what they thought of them and helped them and was very nice to them, still. He said that because of the large variety of students here that there was a much lower chance of being ostracized, and because of that he was quite happy.
He was quite the extrovert, and unfortunately I could not relate to him in that way because I was exactly opposite of him. I was an introvert.
Soon enough we finished dinner and headed back to the room. I went to sleep rather quickly and the last thing I remember seeing was the angel with golden wings smiling a sad smile and within a few minutes, I was out cold.
The next morning a woke up to hear Michael snoring, still clearly asleep. I went and put on my uniform and then went out to the dining hall to eat breakfast. The amount of food was similar to the night before and was now breakfast foods. I saw a clock on one of the walls and saw I had a little time for it was only 8:50. I figured that it was better to be early than late, so I went and headed to the main hall.
To my surprise, Josephine was already there.
“I’m happy you arrived in a timely manner, Lucifer.” She said with a small smile, but quickly returned to her previous expressionless face.
“Please just call me Luc, ma’am” I told her.
“Okay, Luc. Have you eaten breakfast yet?” She asked.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Okay then. Let us begin the tour. Just follow me. I’ll show you all the necessary places that you need to know. Mainly your classrooms, the library, the real main hall, and other rooms.” She said while turning towards one of the halls connecting to the main hall.
Stolen story; please report.
“This isn’t the main hall?” I asked. It was called the main hall so I assumed that this was the only one.
“This is the Eastern wing’s main hall. There is also the northern one’s main hall in addition to the southern, western, and central main halls. The central main hall is the main hall for the entire school so that is the only one that is actually referred to as the ‘main hall’. The rest of them are either called Emh, Nmh, Smh, and Wmh. Right now we are headed to the southern wing which is where your classes are located.” Josephine said as we walked down a long corridor that led into a large room.
“This is the central hall. If you look to your left you will see a hallway. If you continue down that hallway, at the very end lies the headmasters office. The central hall is where student affairs are an any questions will be answered by the staff over by that desk.” She said while pointing to a large desk with people of many different species were working behind.
“Do you have any questions?” She asked as she turned to face me.
“No ma’am.”
“Then we shall now head to the southern wing.” She said before turning towards another entrance to a hall.
“How do you like your roommate?” She asked as we walked down the hallway.
“He is very nice, ma’am.”
“The headmaster is actually the one who paired the two of you up. He said ‘they’ll help each other learn and appreciate others talents.’ That means that you probably won’t change your roommate each year like the other students do unless you have major issues with each other.” Josephine said with cold eyes. She was unsure of why he did that. I don’t know how I knew, but I could tell that from her voice, actions, and her eyes, that she did not know why he did that and does not seem to approve of his decision.
She would never voice her concerns to me though. The headmaster is the highest power in the school and should not be questioned except by someone with power equally as strong.
“We’re here.” She said as we walked into a large room of the south wing. This was the main hall.
“So the hall in that direction,” she said while pointing towards one of the hallways, “Is the hall where the majority of your classes are going to be. Since you are a first year student you will be taking Basic Principles of Materializing and Using Magic, Basic Principles of Purifying Magic, Magic in Combat, Magic in Support, and Runes: How to Read and Use Them. You will also have to take a martial art or weapons class in the case that your magic is bound. You have on other class which has not been decided yet, so we will inform you when we learn which class you are taking.” She said while handing me two papers. One was my schedule and the other was a list of martial arts and weapons classes taught by the academy.
“Do you have any questions?” She asked.
“If these classes are too challenging or too easy for me, will I be able to request a transfer. And who should I inform when i decide which martial art or weapons class I should take, ma’am?” I asked. I doubt the classes will be too hard for me, but just to not sound arrogant I included the ‘too challenging’ part.
“You will be able to request a transfer, but most of the time the teachers will suggest moving up to a higher class if they feel the student could handle it. Concerning the second question, you can report directly to the headmaster when you know which class you want to take.” She said with a steady voice. Her voice lost its edge from before but still had a coolness tinting it.
“Anymore question before we continue?” Josephine asked.
“No ma’am.” I said as she turned to a small door residing next to one of the hall ways.
“This is the door to the stairs. Each wing has its own set and are quite easy to find. It does take a little while to get up though.” She said with a small chuckle. We headed up the stairs and I soon realized what she meant.
The stairs were steep and seemed to take twenty minutes to ascend. Josephine had no difficulty with them, but I struggled a bit because my legs were not as long as hers and my stamina was most likely lacking as well. Soon enough though, we reached the top and entered into another massive hall.
“We are now headed to the library. There is different layers to the library and gradual you will gain access to more of them. Right next you only have access to the first two layers.” She said before walking towards two massive doors. She waved her pin, like the one I have, in front of the door and slowly the door opened to reveal countless rows of novels packed tight into massive bookcases that towered above me.
“You’ll see that each layer of the library is guarded by a wall of magic that automatically reads your pin and grants you access to the appropriate levels. The further back you go the higher qualifications you need so be careful you don’t wander past your area.” She said with a smirk. “Any questions?”
“Will I receive a map to help me navigate throughout the academy, ma’am?” I asked. She only showed me the basic things and I would like to know how to get around the entire campus.
“Yes you will. In fact I have one with me right now, so here you go.” She said while handing me a a piece of paper folded many times. I took it and thanked her and as she turned around to leave, she quickly turned back around and said,
:I almost forgot. The headmaster would like you to decide which weapon or martial art class you would like to take by Sunday afternoon. Headmaster John also said he encourages you to read as many books as you can, he didn’t tell me why though.” She said with a neutral face that betrayed no hint of what she thinking. But her eyes did have a hint of emotion. One that has started wars and cause families and friends to split apart. Jealousy.
“Thank you, ma’am.” I said as we both turned our backs to one another and walked toward opposite ends of the hall. Our footsteps the only sound that could be heard against the cool stone. That will change soon, I thought, as students come pouring in and talk. Talk about everything. For some reason that excited me the prospect of seeing all of them move and speak. Talk. Oh, yes they will talk. Yes they will. Suffer. A cold flat voice rang out in the depths of my mind.