In the chaotic fantastical world of Eldslusia, there exists a great city-state of learning known as Sapientia. Spanning almost a thousand acres, or roughly four square kilometres, it’s an understatement for the title of "great city". Encompassing the city of Sapientia was a white wall that rose 15 meters into the sky. The material that made up the wall seemed to be some kind of marble at first glance, yet on further examination, it was much harder and studier than any marble from Earth. It shone brightly in the sun, to the point where it was almost to look, lest your eyes be burnt out of their sockets. At the vertex of the outer wall, towers rose even higher into the air. Each tower was lit with a magical blue flame that warded away monsters of the dark.
Multiple villages and their farms sprawled out over the vast plains outside these walls, creating an unorderly grid that could only be fully observed from a top-down view. It was like some sort of organic maze, with numerous dirt pathways and rivers winding their way through the countryside as they pleased. This area provided the city with a surplus of food and raw materials and thus made up the lower-class citizens. Although designated by the term "lower", they are by no means impoverished. They have food to eat every day and sleep with a roof over their heads. Even the lowest class still lived by some level of comfort. Such was the living standard of Sapientia, the world's center of learning.
Inside those towering walls of white stone, buildings of all shapes and sizes sprung up. Even some three-story buildings could be seen, but these were in the minority. Most buildings had a sturdy, well-built stone foundation. This alone was a good sign of quality craftsmanship. However, what really stood out as luxurious was what stood on top of these foundations. Each building was constructed from timber imported from the hidden forests of Humilitas, a city-state located on the edge of civilization. It cost a great deal, adding to the splendour and natural wealth of the city-state of Sapientia.
While it might seem foolish to use such high-grade building materials for only middle-class citizens, such an outlook was only thinking about the present. While the initial price for building these high-quality homes may seem high, they are worth it because they won't need to be replaced. The timber of Humilitas is fire resistant, strong like stone, yet flexible like plastic. As a result, these houses will survive many natural disasters, fires, or any other kind of disturbance. In comparison to low-quality houses which will need to be replaced after such events, the choice is obvious. The high-quality houses will save Sapientia money in the long run. This choice in how they build their houses is a reflection of the virtues Sapientia stands for; Foresight, Wisdom, and knowledge.
Bisecting the city was the main road, a paved street that ran from the eastern gate to the western gate. It was wide, as to allow two wagons to travel on it at a time. Next to this paved road, multiple street lamps stood powered off. Extra light was not needed during the day, so they only turned on once night fell. Sapientia was never without light.
While the lower class occupied the area outside the walls, and the middle class occupied the inside of the walls, the noble class occupied the very heart of the city. That is to say, the noble class lived in the academic district, seated at the direct center of Saptienia. Separated by a twenty-meter high wall, the academic district is a place of fabulous wealth and a great many academies of magic and science. This place of study and research is the reason that Sapientia is what it is today. This small academic district of the city stands as a beacon of reason in a world plagued by chaos.
While only the noble class lived directly in the academic district, this is not to say that the middle class and lower class did not participate in the academies of science and magic as well. The various schools in Sapientia did not accept people based on wealth or status, but rather on ability. Those who were accepted into a school were instantly upgraded to at least middle-class housing, giving the skilled a chance to make it big.
Daiyu Yang was one of these few skilled people. She had been accepted into the finest academy Sapientia offered, Sapientia University, founded by the ascended one of sagacity, insight, and knowledge herself, Wisdom. The start of Daiyu's first day was one of excitement and anxiety.
How her heart raced faster and faster with each step she took . . .
How her breath became more and more frantic as the reality of the situation set in on her . . .
How her palms began to get clammy . . .
How her stomach felt like it was full of butterflies . . .
It was a mixture of elation and fear, all reaching its climax as the school grounds came within her view. A white pearly gate stood closed and surrounding it, many students of various ages, heights, species, and genders. Elves, dwarves, orcs, giants, pixies, and even some lizard people could be seen. To someone from the earth, it looked like a fever dream. Even for Daiyu, a native of this world, it was strange to see so many people of different backgrounds all gathered in one place. The sight made her eyes shine just a little brighter.
If so many different people can fit in . . . so can I.
Daiyu quickly mustered up her courage and joined the crowd of people. The sound of hundreds of people talking at once filled her eardrums like the buzzing of a beehive. Giants towered over her at almost three meters tall, while some pixies barely came up to her knees. Daiyu clutched the edges of her pants and tried not to bump into anyone. However, with the number of people present, it was inevitable.
"Eeeek~!"
Daiyu let out a quiet squeal as she accidentally bumped into a giant’s leg.
"Sorry little lady- didn't see you there."
The tall giant gazed down at her and took a step away from her. Daiyu could only nod in her embarrassment before scuttling off. Delving deeper into the ocean of people, Daiyu managed to keep from embarrassing herself any further as she finally reached the pure white gates. Standing directly behind those gates, two people dressed in brown and black robes had a casual conversation.
(1) "Oi, Heco, you hear about the disturbance?"
(2) "Crazy, innit? One of the beacons was destroyed near Triheld right?"
(1) "That’s what I heard too. What do you reckon could have enough power to do somethin' like that?"
The first person dressed in brown/black robes fell into deep thought for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders.
(1) "All beacons are enchanted with Fortitude magic, so I can't imagine they'll be destroyed so easily. Although, I heard Wisdom herself is dealing wit’ it, so I doubt we'll hear any more of it. By the way, when did Jacile say he was coming back?"
(2) "Twenty minutes ago."
The first person shook his head and grumbled to himself.
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(1) "Figures . . .For a high mage, he sure doesn't know how to be on time."
Just then, a male voice rang out.
"A high mage is above making deadlines, I obviously have more important matters to attend to, Ben."
The first person, whose name was apparently Ben, snorted to himself before retorting.
(Ben) "If ‘important matters’ means hollering at the nearest man, then I'll believe you."
(2) "ppfffff-"
The high mage frowned and rolled his eyes, while the second man in robes held in a laugh. Ben smirked at the high mage, confident in his vocal victory. The high mage then took notice of the large crowd of people before responding to ben.
"As much as I enjoy conversing with you two, We have students to attend to. Ben, open the gates at once. Heco, notify the staff that we are starting slightly off schedule."
(Ben) "Right."
(Heco) "Damnit, I always have to run everywhere."
Heco began to jog off into the distance, while Ben closed his eyes and put his hands to the gate. The high mage began to stretch his legs while humming a jolly tune. After a moment, Ben held up three fingers and began to count down. As soon as he put down the third and last finger, he whispered something that Daiyu could hear.
The gates began to vibrate ever so slightly, and a bluish light emanated from it. A hush came over the crowd. However, this newborn silence was quickly interrupted by the sound of stone cracking and the whistle of the wind. Daiyu felt her jaw drop, and she was not alone.
"How the-! When did he?"
"Holy shit, that guy doesn’t skip leg day."
"Damn!"
Everyone was rightly astonished, because that same lanky high mage who looked like he could barely do a push-up had just launched himself twenty meters into the air, straight on top of the highest part of the gate. He cracked a charismatic smile and spread his arms out like he wanted a hug. His voice carried all throughout the crowd, unnaturally so, almost like he had a megaphone.
"Future students of Sapientia University, It is my great honour and privilege to welcome you! My name is Jacile Neyo, second high mage of Sapientia and senior advisor to all newly entered students. It is my job to provide guidance and offer my wisdom in this time of confusion, anxiety, and uncertainty. I promise, my sweet students, you have already gotten through the hardest part! You have worked hard to get here, and you have passed the entrance exam. Be at ease.¨
He paused, passing his eyes over the crowd with smiling eyes. He took a step outwards, making Daiyu cringe. She imagined him falling down twenty meters, and could barely stop herself from looking away. Luckily, her imagination was just that, only imagination. Just as his body began to fall, Jacile twirled his index finger, causing a hurricane wind force to rise up from the ground. This force of wind slammed against Jaciles feet and counteracted the force of gravity. Like so, Jacile smiled at them as he stood straight up on nothing but air.
Even more impressive, he didn't miss a beat. He continued his speech from his lofty position.
“Magic like this is only the beginning, my dear students. If you can gaze at this magic with eyes of adoration, you have much, much more to come to love here at Sapientia University. This place, this school of learning, is the world's beating heart of academic excellence and magical research. Here at Sapientia University, I expect every single one of you to not only succeed but go beyond that. You are the creme of the crop, the best of the best. King of Kings, Heroes of Heroes, that is what I see in front of me. Each and every single one of you is destined to shine brightly in this world, and I’ll be damned if I let even a single one of you not accomplish what I see in you.”
He paused once and seemed to stare into their very souls. While Jacile gave off a very whimsical aura, at this moment, his gaze hardened. Everyone in that courtyard could feel that Jacile was dead serious and meant more than what he had said. After a deafening silence, he nodded and then continued.
“I hate sitting through lengthy speeches just as much as you do, so I’ll keep this short. You are the best of the best. Be confident.”
Then, Jacile snapped his fingers and smirked at them. Daiyu could have sworn that Jacile’s eyes glowed with yellow light for a moment.
“Within your pocket, you will find a letter and two numbers. These will dictate your homeroom for the day. The letter corresponds to the building, while the first number corresponds to the floor of that building. The second letter dictates the room on that floor. For instance, A12 would be the first floor of the A building's second room. If you need further directions, please, consult the numerous maps that can be found within school grounds.”
Daiyu’s eyes widened. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a black sheet of paper with white letters. It read b15.
Building b, first floor, fifth room . . .
Jacile floated down about five meters in the air and then pointed at the gate, which by now was almost glowing blue light. He raised his voice once more.
“I wish you all the best! Let the five hundred and fifth year of Sapientia University . . . BEGIN!”
From his finger, a golden burst of light streamed forwards like a ray of sunlight. This beam of starshine collided with the gate soundlessly and mixed with the blue light of the gate. A bright green light emerged on the gate, and let out a pulse of energy. Then, all colour faded from the gate, and it slowly slid open. Daiyu could feel the magical power from what just occurred, but couldn’t pinpoint its purpose. It was like looking at a complex mathematical formula. You know it calculates something, but exactly what was very hard to figure out from looks alone.
Daiyu was knocked out of her stupor as all manner of students began to rush past her onto school grounds. One of them accidentally bumped into Daiyu, but not a word of apology was spoken. Everyone was frantically trying to be the first to make it to their homeroom, as Jacile had whipped them into a frenzy with his words.
Here we go . . . I can do this . . . I got his . . .
Daiyu gulped as her eyes darted around her surroundings, looking for any reason to not walk onwards, but she could find none. Taking a deep breath, she took her first steps forward. Once she crossed the gate, Daiyu felt emboldened. For some reason, the hardest part of doing anything was always the decision to start.
I'm really doing this! Daiyu Yang, attending the greatest university in the known world!
On the other side of the gate, the sight of the campus took her breath away. Five buildings could be seen in a pentagonal formation. Four of these buildings were as big as a private mansion, and seemed to have five floors. The fifth building, occupying the farthest point from Daiyu, seemed to be some kind of dome. While the buildings themselves were beautiful works of art, the natural magnificence of the scenery that could be viewed between these buildings was what really made Daiyu sigh in amazement. The trees reached high into the air, and beneath them, benches carved from white marble. Fountains made from breathtaking sculptures created natural ponds, with all manner of fish inside. The water was crystal clear from top to bottom. The trees had multicoloured leaves of all colours from black to white, a sign of fall coming in full swing. Each leaf was at least the size of Daiyu’s whole head.
Daiyu’s eyes widened.
Magioaks? How in the world . . .?
An ancient type of tree that was imbued with magical essence for over three hundred years. These trees had been growing in this exact spot for over three hundred years. Daiyu walked up to a tree trunk and put her hand to it. It was coarse and rough, as if it had been weathered for many, many years.
My great-great-grandmother could have touched these trees herself when she was my age.
Daiyu almost lost herself in thought, when suddenly a strange black leaf slowly floated down in front of her. Daiyu grabbed it out of the air and gazed at it. Suddenly, red lines sporadically burst into existence on the leaf, arcing and zipping like lightning. In an instant, red lightning consumed the leaf until nothing but crimson red remained. Then, it burst into ashes.
Daiyu stared at her empty hand in confusion. She knew that Magioaks were a mysterious entity, but never had Daiyu seen such a phenomenon before. She quickly moved on and tried to focus on other things.
Daiyu quickly forgot all about the gorgeous scenery. That leaf had ruined her mood. After a moment of hesitation, she quickly moved herself into the first floor of the b building, and then to the fifth room. When she stepped into the room, there was only one other person. A man with short dark brown hair that was neatly cut and parted from right to left. His eyes had a greenish-amber tint to them, and his facial expression was one of boredom. His nose was and cheekbones were sharp, but not to the extent of an elf. His jaw was too square to have any Elvin ancestry. He looked foreign to her, but not in an ugly way.
He was strange. Daiyu had never seen someone like him before. The man noticed her gaze, and his expression shifted from boredom to slight interest. He raised his right hand casually and spoke with a strange accent that Daiyu couldn’t pinpoint.
“Sup’, nice to meet you. My name’s Tiberius, but most people call me Tib.”