In the kingdom of Moraxxes, there is a great wonder. It is Veranes, the academy city, named after its creator over 900 years ago, on top of a great source of power. It is an Academy ruled by its headmaster and his board of adventurers and heroes. It is capable of holding up to 10,000 students within its residential districts, has its own commercial districts, and various other places, all centred around the gigantic, awe-inspiring building in the middle, The Academy Building.
It teaches all manner is students, from many countries and kingdoms, pledging allegiance to no-one, not even its host kingdom, of which it exists on the border. It teaches students what they will need to know about life, about adventure, about swords, about bows, about magic, and aims to raise people to be the best they can be.
It is within this academy, that one student, a noble girl, will have an event that will both change, and end, her life...
*First Person, Seraphina Evermore's POV*
"Alone again huh?"I quietly mutter to myself, while everyone in the restaurant gibbers away.
"Hey isn't that that Evermore girl?"
"How did she even get into this academy?l
"I bet her parents used their clout to get rid of her in here"
Of course, as soon as people actually notice I'm here, the ridicule begins. I quickly begin to finish my meal in order to get out of this place. Luckily you pay to get your meal here, and not have to pay afterwards. It means my escape can be fast.
"Hey, it must be hard being ridiculed so openly eh? I'll help you out if ya want." Came a gruff, confident male voice to my left. I instantly sharpen my eyes and look at him with suspicion.He was a bulky man, easily my height and a half more, and looked like your typical "alpha".
"Oh?" I elude, as to wait and see what the catch of his oh so innocent offer was.
"Yeah, I'll help ya...If ya kneel before me and lick my boots!" He shouted out, to which he, and everyone else in the restaurant started laughing. Feeling anger and fury well up inside me, I made the sensible decision. I don't care whether or not I payed for that meal or not. And so I stood up, and left.
"You're right! My boots are too good to be licked by trash like you!" He shouted after me, which elicited and other round of laughter from the other patrons, I just hurried away faster upon leaving the restaurant. This has been my life since I joined this Abyssal Academy six months ago.
My name is Seraphina Evermore. The one amazing thing about my is that I have an affinity towards every type of magic. Though that list stops about there. My affinities for them are low enough that I can just about learn basic spells, and physically, I'm not much better, having been sheltered most my life.
It quickly became apparent among my family that despite being of noble blood, I was mostly useless, so they decided to get rid of me by sending me here. Of course, my uselessness followed me here too. I have no idea why I was accepted. All the headmaster had told me was that I "was sure to have an interesting fate".
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Walking through the cobbled street that was illuminated by a setting sun, I took note of my surroundings. The buildings in Veranes were of amazing architecture their stones red in the twilight glow. At day, they would return to being pure beacons of architectural impossibility. However, they all paled in comparison to my current destination.
With walls of its own, standing high above all other buildings of Veranes, was the Academy Building. The main one people came for Veranes for, if you will. Standing kilometres high into the sky, and just as wide, it was truly a sight to behold.
As I entered through the front gate into the courtyard, it was a couple of hundred meters until you reached the front door. The courtyard itself was just filled with grass, and the off flower, nothing particularly special. I continued walking to my destination.
Upon entering through the door to the academy, I used my memory, and various maps, in order to find the place I wanted to go. I did not get lost. One such as I does not get lost.
I found my destination, a large stone door with blue grass growing out from underneath it, within an unused part of the academy. The door had a single eye carved as decoration, with a large slitted pupil. For some reason, ever since I stumbled across this door on one of my "explorations"(I repeat, I was not lost, no matter how much people would tell you otherwise), I felt drawn to it. As if it acknowledged me.
Today, I was going to find out why lay beyond this portal to the unknown and make it known. I moved up to the door, and as if expecting me, it glowed yellow, and then opened. I readied myself for what lay beyond. As the door shifted, my ocular sense was gifted with the sight of a cave leading down, with blue grass upon the floor and the odd pastel flower.
I resolutely continued inwards, and once I passed the threshold, the door closed behind me, and glowed a sickly yellow again.
"Ok, so I'm trapped. That's not fun..." I muttered to myself, as there was no-one else to speak to. I continued to descend deeper into the cave, which seemed to be magically locked up tight. Usually, this would be cause for alarm, enough to say turn back now. I however, felt no choice but to push on. And was I glad I did.
I came across a small grove, with the bottom filled with the blue grass and flowers pastel, the place lit up as if it were day, the pool in the background. However, upon entering the grove, that's when everything turned for the worse.
I felt a great deal of magic power crash down on me, almost killing me with shock. I looked towards the centre of the grove, where there stood a small altar. Upon this altar I was drawn to an eye, coloured yellow of pus and ichor, attached to a handle, ornate blue and purple, with a grip of black. Attached to the eye, perpendicular to the handle, was a large curved blade of yellow, similar in colour to the eye, if only texture more like crystal than slime, with the beginnings of the blade held more by the ornate blue and purple material. The single slitted pupil stared deeply at me, and I heard a voice reverberate round the grove, thougbi was sure it came from the...thing before me.
"Mortal...I am Vala, The Wishstealer. Take me up in arms, and pay the ultimate price, and i shall grant you your greatest desire!" Reverberated the demonic voice, and I felt myself drawn to the handle. The thing I now recognised as a scythe also seemed to be willing me away, but the force dragging me in was far greater. Any wish...My greatest desire...I've already lost so much, there's not much more I could lose... I felt my mind go blank as my hands took the handle, and with surprising ease, released the blade.
The scythe then proceeded to flip through the air beyond my grip, and hover, the blade pointed menacingly at me. It's at this point I realised what it meant by the ultimate price... I guess this is how I go...
"I only wanted friends, people I could trust..." we're my last words before the scythe came spinning down and pierced my heart. Everything quickly went black, and I heard a morose, mournful version of that demonic voice call out,
"Then I shall grant thine wish..."