Just as promised, Soren found Amon patiently waiting for him. He was sitting alone on one of the sofas, dressed in the academy uniform. The uniform consisted of black trousers, a white button up shirt, and the students choice of blazer or sweater.

  Just as they saw with the two third year students that had guided them. Students were allowed to choose between a variety of uniforms. Though, most of the options were very similar, all sharing the same brown color and embroidered school sigil.

  It seemed that both him and Amon chose the sweater.

  Seeing Soren, the young boy eagerly stood up from his place on the sofa, moving over to meet with him.

  “There you are! Ready to go?”

  Giving the boy a courteous smile, he nodded.

  “Yeah… Let’s go.”

  With that, the two of them left the dormitory. The class wouldn’t start for a bit, but it was a good idea to explore the academy grounds.

  St. Luminous was both massive and incredibly beautiful. Inside the walls, it was almost like a town of its own. Paved walkways, luscious greenery, there was even a small lake by a cluster of academic buildings.

  The greenery consisted of mostly tall slender trees, with dark orange leaves. The leaves were neatly piled up on the grass by groundskeepers. Though, no matter how fast they cleaned them up, more and more leaves would only continue to fall.

  ‘What else do you expect from winter? I will say though, it's surprisingly warm for this time of year.’

  Back in Ravenshollow, snow would pile up to your ankles this time of year. But here, it was pleasantly cool, offering the people residing here a comfortable atmosphere.

  Though, the most spectacular thing they had seen was a massive tree residing close to the lake. The tree itself was as tall as a large building, with a wide trunk. Its bark was a pale ashy white. The leaves though, were the most brilliant typing about it.

  They were a pale pink color, giving off a faint light. The branches stretched far and wide, creating a large area of shade beneath it. Some thin branches hung low, dangling like loose cables.

  ‘It’s just like that painting back home.’

  Moving further in, they found themselves at what seemed to be the heart of the academy.

  The place was so lively, students resting on benches and under gazebos, others moving between the various buildings. It would have been easy to get lost in a place like this, though it seemed that a few upperclassmen were scattered across academy grounds, offering directions to those who needed it.

  The two of them stopped occasionally, taking in as much as they could. They had seen a majority of the outside spaces, Soren was still curious about the runic engineering department, but that would have to wait. First they needed to find their class.

  “Which building was it?”

  Amon shrugged his shoulders.

  “I believe it was the one by the lake.”

  Passing by the still waters of the lake, they stood outside a tall chain of buildings, connected by a few breezeways. Students walked in packs through these open hallways, discussing various things. There were even a few professors hurriedly heading to their classes. Walking under one of the walkways, they stepped out into a spacious courtyard that resided between the buildings.

  Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, quickly jogging into the entrances. It seemed classes were close to starting. Amon briefly tapped him on the shoulder, before running in himself.

  “We should probably follow their lead.”

  Jogging into the building, they hurriedly navigated the halls. The interior of the building made everything about it seem so grand. The floors were made of tan tiles, laid out in an ornate pattern. The walls consisted of dark oak wood and tall glass windows, allowing you to see the stunning view of the lake on one side and the bustling courtyard on the other.

  It was by no means cramped either, the halls and stairs were built wide enough to accommodate large groups of people. Students moved in an orderly fashion, sticking to one side of the halls, allowing those moving in the opposite direction to pass by easily. All of the young weavers wore the same uniform, with slight variation of course.

  ‘It’s a little unsettling how perfect everything is. They move more like well trained dogs than actual people.’

  Following the crowd, the two of them ascended a flight of stairs, peaking their heads into classrooms. Occasionally they had to backtrack, but after a few minutes they arrived. Stepping into the classroom, Soren was greeted by a large open area. Rows of seats sat close to the entrance, taking up almost half the room. The other half consisted of a large desk nestled against the back wall, a large blackboard took up most of the wall, the rest was open space.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  People had already taken their seats, however, it seemed as though the professor had not arrived yet. Feeling a tug at his sleeve, Amon looked at Soren with a pale expression. Gesturing with his eyes, he directed Soren’s attention to a young girl sitting at the back of the class.

  “Look! It’s her.”

  His voice was quiet, with a sense of urgency. It didn’t take him long to realize why. Sitting away from the other students, a girl with short blonde hair and golden eyes stared ahead, a cold, unreadable expression on her face.

  ‘Cyra…’

  Soren couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy at the sight of the girl. Looking over to his friend, he could tell the boy felt the same.

  “Let’s find a place to sit.”

  Amon gave him an awkward nod, following Soren as they took a seat on the last row, across from the slum girl.

  As more students piled in, Soren noticed that everyone took a seat as far as they could from them. A few students even scoffed at their presence.

  ‘Not like I would want to sit with pompous assholes like you anyways…’

  It did not take long for everyone to arrive, once they seated themselves, two sizable gaps remained at the back of the room. One around Cyra, the other around Soren and Amon.

  ‘Truly, their pettiness knows no bounds.’

  Leaning over, Amon whispered something to Soren.

  “Sorry… They’re probably avoiding me, It happens a lot.”

  A sympathetic look appeared on his face, as Soren whispered back.

  “I think it's both of us. After what happened the other day, I’m not…”

  For some reason, he found himself unable to finish his sentence. His heart began to race, as his breathing grew heavier. It felt like a weight had been dropped on him, keeping him pinned in one place. He was… Scared.

  ‘W-what’s happening!?’

  Soren wasn’t alone as it seemed. Everyone in the room has stopped their chatter, frozen in place by fear. Even the expressionless Cyra had a look of terror on her. What was this unexplainable pressure? He had felt it before, he knew this feeling.

  Through the deafening silence, slow, methodical footsteps echoed throughout the classroom. Turning his head, he looked past the petrified Amon, seeing a tall slender man walk down the central aisle.

  His short raven hair swayed as he walked, his cold purple eyes looked around the room as he walked. He was too pale, looking almost sickly. This was the same man who had conducted their examination.

  Instructor Hanami…

  No one dared speak. All of them sat as still as they possibly could, watching as he approached the head of the room. Soren’s hands trembled, as countless thoughts ran through his mind.

  ‘This is Hanami!?’

  ‘Why him… Out of anyone, why him?’

  ‘Did he do this on purpose?’

  Stopping in front of the desk, he stared out over the dozens of terrified weavers. Straightening up, he spoke in a loud, firm voice.

  “Greetings class. I am professor Hanami.”

  Picking up a slender piece of chalk, he began drawing something on the board.

  “You all have the pleasure of being placed amongst the top. Meaning, all of you either have tremendous potential, or are ahead of the norm when it comes to weaving.”

  Setting the chalk down, he stood a few steps away from the board. He wrote out a simple phrase.

  Stagnation Is Death.

  “I am here to bring out your fullest potential… This will not be easy. I will push each of you beyond your limits, breaking you over and over. Until you either adapt, or give up.”

  Silence hung over them, the presence of Hanami was enough to keep them quiet.

  “Over your time here, I will teach you proper mathematics, history, and runic science. But our main focus will always be weaving.”

  Walking over to the desk, he slowly lowered himself into the chair. His eyes tracing over the group of silent students.

  “Those of you who are able to grow and change, will go on to be great scholars… However, those that stagnate, showing no capability of growth, will fade into the background.”

  His words were cold, lacking any real emotion. Even though it was cruel, he was right. An inability to change had no place in a world like this.

  Looking over to the trembling figure of Amon, Soren couldn’t help but worry for the boy. It impacted him in no way whether or not he lasted here, but even still, he didn’t want him to fail.

  ‘I just need to look out for myself, Amon can handle himself.’

  Straightening up in his chair, Instructor Hanami flipped through a stack of paper. Once satisfied, he tossed it down on the desk.

  “Today will consist of a review of basic knowledge you all should possess.”

  His eyes briefly focused on Soren, then back to the rest of the class.

  “Over these first few weeks, I will help you all discover where your talents lay. Whether it be battle arts, spell casting, or even swordsmanship.”

  With that he returned to the board, picking up the chalk once more. He began to write down a few names. Soren didn’t recognize any of them, though he felt as though he should have.

  “Runes have existed far longer than humanity, our development has been shaped by them… Over the course of history, a few individuals came close to understanding the true nature of runes.”

  Setting the chalk down, he stood beside the list of names.

  “These people went on to form the major clans that we now know as the great families.