The Nycean College Of Mages.

A place where ambition and potential alike gathered to intertwine their fates.

Its campus was comfortable and beautiful, compromised of several different buildings spread out the field, connected through cobbled roads. It was so large that it even had a small forest in it. The College grounds were all surrounded by an exterior white wall, and its only official entrance was the south gate, though rumors spoke of hidden passage ways that allowed diplomats to come and go without being noticed.

Toc, toc.

"Come in."

The door opened, and an old man stepped inside the headmaster's office.

"Ah, good morning, ser Eldrich."

"Good morning, Arlana. How are you today?"

She sighed.

"Busy. It's always like this on the first day. How about you?"

The elder gave her a weak smile.

"...I've just arrived from Port Hope."

"The locals had asked you to witness the interrogation of that pirate that was captured in Armorica, right? How did it go?"

"Well... I thought it would take us several days to get him to talk, but he was unusually cooperative..."

The headmaster's hand never stopped writing on her document as she conversed with ser Eldrich.

"He was willing to betray his leader? What did he tell you?"

"...he confessed to having stolen the Vista, and gave us a recount on how the captain and her crew recovered it after a raid on his cave."

"I see."

"...he also spoke of a man in black."

Arlana paused and raised her eyes to look at the master wizard over her glasses.

"A man in black participated in the raid?"

"Yes."

"I didn't read that in Ferguson's report."

"It was likely left out on purpose."

The young woman frowned.

"Why would he do that?"

"Well... most of the pirates were killed during the raid. My guess is, he tried to downplay the boy's part in it."

"Nonsense. The College would never reject a potential student over something like that. Quite the opposite, I'm sure everybody's grateful that the seas in that region are a little bit safer now."

Ser Eldrich walked up to the window and looked upon the students who were gathering for the opening ceremony.

A black figure was easily distinguishable among the students wearing red and grey uniforms.

"That pirate's name was... Berzen."

"Never heard of him.", said Arlana, going back to her document.

"He works for Wember."

"Ah. That's a name I recognize."

"His recount was rather chilling when it came to describing this... sorcerer. He was sweating, and his whole muscled body trembled in fear."

Arlana shrugged.

"If what that hatted man says is true and he is indeed a competent magician, then a brute with more gains than brains has no hope of winning."

Ser Eldrich agreed. However, she hadn't been there for the interrogation.

"A monster... all dressed in black... his eyes were bright and full of evil. I surrendered; I begged him for mercy, but he kept walking, he got closer and closer...", a trembling Berzen had recounted. At that point in the story, he had closed his eyes and would shake his head whenever the authorities asked him for more details. In the end, he never revealed what had happened during the final moments of the raid.

"Just keep an eye on him. We don't want to draw too much attention toward us.", said Eldrich to Arlana.

"I'm busy, but I'll try."

He turned to her and smiled again.

"Well, that's enough about that. I think it's about time.", he said.

Arlana closed her notebook and nodded.

"Yes."

She stood up, and walked out to the hallway followed by the elder. Through the windows, she could see the students gathering near the fountain, outside of the main building.

She walked down the stairs and met up with other officials along the way.

"Everything's ready, headmaster."

"Thank you."

----------------------------------------

Arlana headed outside, escorted by a small contingent, and walked up the wooden steps to address the students from the makeshift stage that had been prepared in advance. Approximately four hundred students were staring up to her in expectation.

She took a deep breath and began addressing the crowd:

"Good morning, dear students. Today, as it happens every year, starts a new cycle for us. After bidding farewell to our latest graduates, we welcome a new generation with open arms -and open minds- and continue guiding those who were first and second years previously..."

Araven yawned.

"Here, in our temple of knowledge, where we impart the wisdom bestowed upon us by our ancestors, we as educators also learn and grow from you. I wholeheartedly believe that the diversity of backgrounds makes for a more complete and inclusive institution..."

"Don't do that; It's rude!", said Rina.

"When I look upon you, I see politicians, military leaders, healers and poets... and everything in between."

Arlana had paused briefly; her eyes had darted towards a specific group of new students who were accompanied by a tall man in black. Many other students were glancing in their direction and murmuring among themselves.

"To the older alumni, I wish you a pleasant first day of studies. To the freshmen, I bid you welcome to our noble institution, and sincerely hope our time together will nurture us both. Thank you."

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An applause followed suit.

"First years, class D, with me...!", Nero had been given a "Class D card" as he headed towards the fountain, so he followed the employee who had called him out.

After the long and rather boring speech, Nero and his class were guided to the dormitory. To his surprise, the group was not led towards the dorms on the west wing of campus, but rather to the old dorms up north, past the main building.

"We're staying here?", Nero asked the magician who guided them after he had opened the door.

"Yes.", he smiled.

Araven crossed his arms.

"Seems like we're being segregated.", he murmured.

"Shh...!", Rina hissed.

Just like it had been done before, the first floor belonged to the boys, and the second floor to the girls. Nero noticed many familiar faces in his class apart from Rina, Araven and Luna. Silvy, Owen, Khina, Selene, and the black-haired girl -what was her name again...?- were also in it, though he didn't recognize the rest.

In fact, none of the other participants who had also passed the second round were there with him. Who were these people? The total student count amounted to about twenty.

"Please choose a roommate. We'll give you a key belonging to your room; please drop your belongings there and head outside immediately so we can take you to class.", said the magician.

A woman accompanied the girls upstairs and instructed them to do the same. Nero felt glad that at least he got to share his room with Araven; this would make things a lot easier in many ways for him.

"Oh, by the way, we have arranged a special room for you.", said the man, showing them a slightly larger room with three beds on it.

"Oh, that's fine.", Nero said, "he doesn't nee-"

"We shall take it.", Sharmon interrupted.

The boy frowned at him.

"What? Do you feel like sleeping, now?" he asked him after the magician left them alone for a moment in the room.

"You were given better accommodations, boy. Shut your mouth and take them.", said the sorcerer.

"...can't disagree with him on this one.", said Araven, dropping his bag on the other bed instead of leaving it on the floor.

"Bah. I guess."

After leaving their stuff, the two boys walked downstairs and met up with the staff members that were waiting for them and once everybody was accounted for the group was guided back to the main building and into an empty classroom on the low level.

"The professor will arrive shortly. Please wait here.", he said, before closing the door and leaving them on their own.

It was a rather small room, with long tables that could be shared by up to four students. The professor's desk stared back at them, empty, and behind it a chalkboard that had seen much use was also waiting to get back at work.

Nero was sitting with Luna to his left and Araven to his right; Rina sat on the opposite side of the table next to Araven. Sharmon was leaning against the wall behind them, looking nowhere in particular.

It was only then that Nero noticed he didn't have a pen or paper to take any notes. He looked around, and observed that many others had brought their own stuff to class.

Damn it! Was he already going to lag behind on the very first class?

Then, the door opened.

"Good morning.", said a bored voice.

A middle-aged lady walked into the room. She was very short, slightly chubby, had tiny eyes and big cheeks, and wore a pair of small rectangular glasses.

"Good morning, professor.", said Nero, as she had entered from the back door, which was next to his desk.

"Good morning.", said the rest of class.

The professor walked past them and picked up a piece of chalk.

"My name is Carla. I'll be your Magic History teacher.", she wrote her name on the board and then proceeded to sit down, addressing the class.

Everyone stared at her in expectation except for Sharmon, who couldn't appear any more uninterested.

She sighed.

"As you are all well aware, you have been placed in Class D. I'll explain what this means: your class is the lowest of the College.", she said bluntly.

Nobody said anything.

Her voice was rather soft, but felt devoid of all life.

"This College has several layers of competency, or classes, as they are called. Each year has an S class, an A class, a B class, a C, class, and then there's the D class. This is the class where students who are enrolled under special circumstances receive their education. Some are scholarships, others chose a different payment method... regardless of your circumstances, you can all be happy and proud to be students of the Nycean College of Mages."

Again, silence.

"The College organizes various events in which the different classes participate; these events are varied and can range from artistic competitions to duels between students. The objective of these activities is to have the different classes interact with one another and grow mutually."

Some students started writing that down.

"Today's class will only be introductory; you'll be given your elements of study during the week. What I expect from my class is to pay attention to the lessons and absorb as much knowledge as possible. This will be good for your future. Now, for some introductory history on magic, I'll start by telling you about the discovery of Magic by the ancients and how they came to learn to manipulate it. It all began several centuries ago when the general Artiga was fighting the war on the side of the revolutionary forces of the Silver Kingdom after their declaration of independence, which had taken place..."

An hour went by.

Then, another.

"...so that is a little bit of a summary on how the Estyrian Kingdoms came to use magic. Class is over, you should head outside and take your twenty minute break and come back to the classroom to have your next lesson. Don't be late, and I'll be seeing you in a few days."

With that, professor Carla got up and walked out of the classroom.

No student had said a single word after saying their good mornings, and more than anybody Nero was dumbfounded. The group walked outside to catch some air and clear their thought on their first class.

There were many other students hanging about in different places of the courtyard in front of the building.

"Dude, what the hell was that!?", Nero complained as the group walked towards the fountain. The sun was shining brightly above the group.

"It was, by far, the most boring lesson in magic I have ever received in my life.", said Araven, yawning, "I almost fell asleep twice."

"Professor Carla seems to know a lot about history, though.", said Rina, "right, Luna?".

"I don't know, I didn't pay attention.", she shrugged.

Then, a group of about six students approached them.

"Hey there! You're from class D, first year, right?", said a friendly brown-haired boy.

"Yeah.", said Nero.

"Nice to meet you. We're class D, second years. Name's Elliot."

He offered his hand.

"Oh, cool! Nice to meet you.", the boy shook it, "I'm Nero. These are Rina, Araven and Luna."

"So, how did your first class go?"

"Boring.", said Luna.

"Oh, so you had professor Carla. She's the death of all that's fun."

"You can say that again...", said Rina.

"At any rate, we're here to get acquainted to you. Us D class students have to stick together, you know? Feel free to ask us anything if you need pointers or tips."

"What can you tell us about this place?", asked Araven.

"Well...", Elliot looked to his left and right to make sure no one else was listening, "this place isn't as safe as it looks.", he said in a low voice.

Sharmon squinted his eyes at him for a moment.

"What do you mean?", Nero asked.

The other D class students gathered around the boy's group, closing the circle to keep others out.

"As you know, we're separated into classes, and we D class folk don't get the longest end of the stick, if you know what I mean. The classes compete against each other a lot, and every class is favored to win when facing off against a lower class, meaning that everybody is expected to beat us and won't hold back at all in order to keep us from getting any place in anything other than dead last."

"We don't get the same tools as the other classes?", asked Araven, frowning.

"Technically, we do, by the College at least, but in practice we don't. The upper classes are all sons and daughters of politicians and mages and the like, and we're just regular folk trying to get to be mages. We're severely handicapped when it comes to factors that exceed the walls of campus."

"Also, you can expect the other classes to treat you guys like shit. Get used to it. If you need someone to hang with, I suggest you don't try to make friends with anyone outside of the D classes.", said another student.

"And whatever you do, don't pick a fight with them or allow yourself to get provoked. You'll get in real trouble with the professors if a fight breaks out.", said a girl who had her hair tied in a short ponytail. She seemed familiar...

"What kind of trouble?", asked Rina.

"Depending on the gravity of the situation, it can be anything from having to clean the school building to getting expelled for life. I say, don't risk it.", said another guy that looked very unfriendly but actually had a pretty amicable voice.

"So how did you get in here? You didn't have to go through the testing process like we did, right?", asked Araven.

"Oh. Well, we're all middle-class. Most of us come from artisan families and stuff. Our parents are paying for our education on a monthly basis, so we were assigned to this class. Not that I'm complaining, though...", said the girl, smiling at the blonde.

Rina frowned at her.

"That's neat. My grandma could never afford this place.", said Nero.

"I mean, our families barely can, so we have to do our best to keep out of trouble. Oh, and don't even think about ratting someone out if they pull a prank on you. You'll be calling the hells upon you."

"Alright, so what should I do if I have a problem with someone?"

"Come to us and we'll give you advice.", said the unfriendly-looking guy, "your priority should always be to make sure you don't draw negative attention. Anything else can be worked out with time."

"Hey, by the way... you didn't introduce us to that man in black back there. He's... Sharmon, right?", said the girl, rather timidly.

Everybody turned their heads towards the sorcerer. He was leaning against the fountain in silence, and turned his head towards the group only because he was being addressed.

"...yes.", he simply said.

"Oh, wow! He actually talked to me!", she giggled.

"Man, you're so badass! We were following the exams; the College was keeping us up to date on a daily basis! The whole city of Nycea was going nuts!", said Elliot.

"We'll be relying on you to help us during the face-offs, you know!", said the girl.

"Hm."

The sorcerer looked away.

"Don't mind him. He's always like that. That's why I don't even bother introducing him anymore.", said Nero.

"You can count on him when it matters, though.", smiled Araven.

"Not so fast, buddy. We'll also be counting on you four. You didn't get in here by paying; you guys actually have some serious skills. Maybe we do have a chance at beating some C class idiots this year.", said the unfriendly-looking guy.

"Listen, you should go back to your classroom. Your next lesson is about to start. Come see us at the old dormitory -that is, our dormitory- after class and we'll teach you the ropes to survive around here. Until then, don't, I repeat, don't get in trouble. Alright?", said Elliot.

"Heh, we'll try.", said Araven.

"No, we will.", Rina warned him with her eyes.

"Then, see ya later.", said Nero.

The second-years waved them goodbye, and both groups went their separate ways towards their respective classrooms.

Second lesson was about to begin, and Nero was anxious to know if it would be more interesting than the snooze fest Carla's lesson had been.