[Scene Loading…]
[Location: Leoncrest Castle - Tower 7]
[Date: August 15, y. 485 of the Fourth Age]
One week later, the halls filled with students as the last of the newcomers arrived, and all the veterans showed back up from their holiday. The hustle and bustle of the castle was constant, no matter where Zeke wandered.
Except at night, when all he could hear were those strange, stony footsteps wandering here and there. They made him nervous, though he imagined that that was the point.
In any case, the first day of classes finally came around. His class schedule had been delivered to him in the days leading up to the start, and Ralph quickly grabbed the list from him.
“Alright! Let’s see what we’ve got here.” He murmured, scanning through it all. “Aura Infusion… Introduction to Politics… History of Athia I… Introduction to Swordsmanship.” He shrugged. “Not a huge class list, but not a small one, either. That history class usually isn’t started until the second year. They must really think you can handle it.”
Zeke frowned, scratching the back of his neck. Maybe… Or, maybe, someone was really trying to make sure that he didn’t pass.
In any case, the day of the Academy was laid out in a very structured manner. The pre-dawn part of the day, up until 9:00, was free for use. Dueling clubs and physical training regimes were common, though not official Academy offerings, and could be accessed on the main lawn. Some of them were invite-only, others were open. Zeke had plans of joining at least one of them, but hadn’t yet had the time to figure it all out.
Then, from 9:00 until noon were academic classes. Noon to 1:00 was lunch, and then 1:00 until 5:00 comprised warfare classes. Dueling, casting, that sort of thing. Dinner was open from 5:30 until 7:30, though technically all time after 5:30 was again free for student use. There were other clubs that met at that time, with a variety of focuses. Some were physical, some revolved around study or cooking, and so on. Then, of course, 8:00 was curfew, and from what Zeke could tell, no one ever dared to break it.
On that first day of classes, he found himself wandering up into Tower 7, which was far more massive than his dormitory tower. The tower still had a central staircase with rooms and halls branching off at every level, but the rooms were far larger, and sometimes there were even multiple halls. The tower was truly enormous, so large that it often didn’t properly feel like a tower at all.
In any case, Zeke’s first class, Aura Infusion, was located on the fourth floor. When he walked inside, he found a large classroom packed with just about every sort of student that you could imagine. Elise caught his eye and waved him over to her, and he slipped over and sat down.
“Ready for your first day?” She asked, excitedly.
“I hope so.” He shrugged. “I’m surprised to see you in an intro-level class, though.”
She frowned, and glanced over at him. “This isn’t an intro-level class. This is a second-year class. You mean…”
Her eyes widened, and Zeke felt a flash of fear. He had been placed into a second advanced class? An advanced history class was one thing, but an advanced Aura class?
A moment later, the door burst open, and the professor strode in. He wore black and silver robes, marking him as a member of House Stragga. As he reached the front of the room, he turned around and gazed sharply at everyone there.
“Welcome, to Aura Infusion.” He crossed his arms and slowly turned his gaze to Zeke. Zeke felt as though the gaze was burning a hole straight through him. “As you all know, Aura Infusion is the class that comes after Aura Movement. Aura movement is the practice of moving one’s Aura throughout your body, and you should only attempt mana infusion if you have mastered Aura movement. Is there anyone here who believes they may be in the wrong class?”
His gaze was fixed dead on Zeke, and Zeke felt his palms grow sweaty. It was a test, that much was simple. If Zeke spoke up, then he would be a laughingstock, but if he didn’t, he would be in a class that he couldn’t hope to pass. Sure, everyone already thought that he was a laughingstock anyway… But he did need allies, and he had a feeling that playing the political game would be a large part of completing the trials.
“Say something!” Elise hissed.
Zeke kept his mouth clamped shut. After a moment, the professor nodded.
“Very well. You may call me Professor Gerald De’Stragga. By the end of this class, I expect that you will all have a much better time infusing your aura into things. In order to pass, you will need to infuse your aura into a throwing star, and guide it through a maze without hitting the walls. Now, as a brief recap, who can tell me what an Aura is?”
A hand shot up at the front of the room. Zeke couldn’t tell who the student was who answered.
“The Aura is the source of a warrior’s power.”
“Yes.” Professor Gerald nodded, again looking dead at Zeke. “Aura is what allows you to enhance your strength and speed, use Emblems, use magic, and do a great many other things. Everyone in this room, besides myself, will have an E-Rank Aura. If you wish to confirm this fact, simply place your hand on the upper right-hand corner of your desk.”
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Zeke glanced at that corner, where he found a small, grey square. He placed his hand upon it, and a message appeared.
[Aura Reading: E-Rank]
[Classification: Initiate]
[Progress to D-Rank: 1%]
“Good.” The professor said after a moment. “Let us begin.”
He raised his hand, and a box floated up from the corner of the room. It burst open, and a small, crystal sphere flashed out to land on the desks of all the students. Zeke felt his settle into his hand, and he winced. It was only a few inches across, so that he could easily grasp it with his fingers.
“There we go.” Professor Gerald spoke up. “Now, we’ll begin by having everyone focus their aura into their hand. For now, don’t pick up the sphere. This is only a simple exercise.”
Zeke put down the sphere, then held up his hand. He did his best to channel his aura into it, but… Well… He had never been too great at it. He pulled and directed it as best he could, and saw the skin on his right hand beginning to glow.
“If you’re seeing any glowing energy, that’s a bad sign. It means that you don’t have control yet.” Professor Gerald cautioned them. “Try to reduce it as much as possible.”
Zeke sighed and did his best, but he simply didn’t know how to control it all that well. His hand, if anything, began to glow even more brightly.
“Alright. Now, pick up the sphere.” Professor Gerald called out. “Begin to pour your Aura into it, but do so very slowly. We don’t want to risk any accidents. The result should be that the sphere hovers just a few inches above your palm, like so.” He picked up one of the spheres himself, and it rose up above his skin, where it danced about slightly. “Nothing fancy today.”
Zeke nodded, and held up his hand. It was still glowing, and he tried to add a bit of his aura. Around him, he heard gasps of awe as the balls floated up above other peoples’ hands, and he gritted his teeth.
ZZZZAP!
A blast of lightning seemed to explode from his palm, launching the crystal sphere high into the air. It struck the ceiling with a resounding boom, then fell back to whack another student in the back of the head. As that student spun around, Zeke found that he had just hit Diocletian, of all people, with it.
“Hey!” Diocletian roared, leaping to his feet. “He just tried to kill me!”
“I very much doubt that.” Professor Gerald sounded amused. “In all my years, I have never seen a student with so little control over their aura, at least in this class. If he had been trying to kill you, I am sure that the projectile would have gone nowhere near your head.”
The rest of the class laughed, and Zeke sighed and sank down into his chair. Professor Gerald waved his hand, and the ball floated back into Zeke’s grasp.
“Perhaps we should try that again. Zeke? Would you care to demonstrate to the class how that was a simple mistake? I’m sure that in reality, you’re far better than that.”
Zeke let out a long breath. He glanced over at Elise, who suddenly closed her eyes. As he started to focus his aura into his palm, there came another flash of energy.
But this one came from across the room.
BLAM!
A sphere erupted from another student’s hand and went straight through one of the windows. Glass came crashing down, tinkling across the cabinets and the floor. Another student’s hand exploded as well, and the sphere was sent straight into the hardwood paneling of the classroom walls.
Professor Gerald’s eyes narrowed, and his gaze swept around the classroom. It was clear that he suspected something, though he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. After a moment, he swept back to the front of the classroom. The rogue spheres were returned to their owners, and he sighed.
“It would seem that the Introduction to Aura professor didn’t do his job.” He crossed his arms tightly. “If so many of you are having the same problem, it cannot be assumed that the issue lies in a single incompetent student. Let us review, briefly, the principles of aura control.”
“But professor!” One of the students called out. “I know how to control my aura! The ball just leapt out of my hand, it was-”
“Quiet!”
Zeke glanced over at Elise, who opened her eyes and flashed a small smile at him. He smiled back, then turned his attention to the front of the classroom. Professor Gerald began to review, in brief, the basics of aura control, and while Zeke didn’t understand a lot of it, by the end of the class, he was able to focus his aura into his hand without any major problems.
When the class was over, everyone rose and began to disperse. Zeke glanced down at his list, realizing that he had only about fifteen minutes to make it all the way down to Tower 11. It was a long haul, and he was going to have to run. As he slipped toward the edge of the classroom, though, Professor Gerald seemed to materialize from the shadows.
“Godfrey.”
Zeke froze, and he slowly turned to look up at the professor. His blood froze, and the professor pulled him off to the side.
“Please, sir, I’m going to be late.” Zeke protested.
“I will be fast. Here.” Professor Gerald pulled a small note out of his pocket. “A late slip, given by professors to students when they need to stay and talk for a few moments. It doesn’t excuse you for more than a few minutes, but it gives you some leeway.”
“Ahh… Thank you?” Zeke raised an eyebrow.
“Do not thank me. I am required by Academy regulations to provide such concessions. I have no interest in helping you along.” Professor Gerald’s eyes narrowed. “If you ask me, boy, you should turn around and run home as fast as you can. The Godfrey line was doomed generations ago.”
“What does everyone have against us?” Zeke snapped. He realized, the moment it was out of his mouth, that he probably shouldn’t have talked to a professor in such a way, but… What else was he going to do?
“What does everyone have against you? Do you really not know?” Professor Gerald sneered. “The Godfreys have been loose cannons for hundreds of years. The great and noble knights, they’ve been allowed to walk all over the kingdom. They’ve stolen countless relics from all the other houses, House Stregga no less, and stored them away in their vaults. Their victories overshadow the contributions of armies. For generations, House Godfrey has done whatever they want, whenever they want, without any sense of duty. We spent generations asking simply for restraint, and our calls went unanswered. This is the reward that your house has reaped.”
Zeke’s stomach flipped, but he nodded and slipped out of the classroom. Putting on a burst of speed, he hurried away. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to be winning any popularity contests with Professor Gerald. That much he could handle, just so long as he could figure out a way to pass the class and stay in the academy.
And, for that, he imagined that he was going to need a bit of help.
[Scene Close]
[Earned Emblems:]
- Heart of the Warrior
[Active Quests:]
[Training Montage: Train to begin 34 Trials]
[Catchup: Find someone to teach basics of Aura control]
