The blue glow of the ritual site faded in the distance, as the group of students crowded around the smallest dorm. The building was tall, at least 5 stories, made of stone bricks, the slanted roofing being made of wood. The building looked nice, with its many windows, not one of which seemed random. If you were looking at this building alone, you would think that it was amazing, in all of its grey-bricked glory, but if you looked at the other two dorms, which were larger, and ordained with many ornaments, with larger, and more extravagant windows, it would seem like nothing more than a boring shack.

For one reason or another, this group of students had been pushed into Grey dorm, home to the students who are the least likely to succeed. Most of the students, though, had been pushed down from white dorm, since they ran out of room, and had to put some students in grey. A man in grey robes, with short black hair, tinged with grey, stood in front of the large double doors of grey dorm, holding a key, and talking. "Hello those of you unfortunate enough to be placed in this dorm. My name is Damien Krey. You may call me Mr. Krey. I will be running this dorm for the duration of your stay, so if you have any problems with the dorms, I am the mage to talk to." He motioned his arm towards the dorm. "The first floor has a few rooms, the foyer, which is more like a small lounge, so at least you have somewhere comfortable to sit. There is also a small kitchen, if you want to prepare yourself a meal in-dorm, instead of eating in the dining hall. The storage closet is also on the first floor. All other floors are dorm rooms, each floor holds 4 rooms, each room holds 2 people. I must tell you now, that your roommate is, and will always have to be your partner." Mr. Krey quickly turned around and began to unlock the door to the grey dorm. "Well, now that that's over, let us enter. Any items you sent before hand should already be in your room." The door opened into the foyer, the room had many sets of chairs around small tables, all of which were a dull grey.

Aegis listened to the man's words, but payed more attention to Cordelia. Watching her, looking around her, and prevent anyone from getting too close. Aegis was still getting used to the fact that he was now his master's shield in more ways than one. (They have you summon your weapon/attempt magic for a sort of entrance exam) Aegis was not one to be shocked by information though, so he kept a plain face, and watched Cordelia like a hawk.

A glazed pair of dull crimson hues watched with little interest as the dorm doors were opened, thankful when at last their overseer was done speaking. Valeria had little interest in lingering around with the other students; no doubt they'd come across one another in classes and the like so there was really no rush to introduce herself. rather, the objective at the moment was gaining a good room with optimal placement near useful facilities; it would have to be something on the first floor. Turning in the direction of her partner, Ishye, Valeria motioned towards the hall's entryway, lips parting to utter her next uninterested phrase. "Best to get our room early." The inside of the hall was what you'd expect of a prestigious school for magecraft and swordsmanship, it's length and breadth playing host to the sorts of fineries Valeria had never before been privileged enough to touch. Still, it was all dazzling and shiny and new, there were more important things to be doing. Grasping Ishye's hand, Valeria led him towards one of the nearby doors, grabbing the room closest to the dorm's foyer.

Shiloh arrived, napping, on the back of his giant sloth, several trunks of luggage hastily lashed to the beast's back as it plodded, ever so slowly, towards the dorm. It came to a stop at the front, and Shiloh yawned and and stretched before looking around.
"Pablo? Oh, we're already here? Good boy."
He patted Pablo's head as he clumsily untied the ropes and grabbed his trunk, hefting it over his shoulder with one hand and sliding down the beast's back. He looked over towards his roommate, Simon.
"Eh man, you know the room?"

Maya looked at the board of room assignments. "Top floor, room 4," Maya said to her brother, "Good! It's the furthest away from the entrance. That means stair exercise every day. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling so pumped! In addition to that chain weapon I can summon, I've felt boundless energy since the ritual. I wonder if the suit of armor I had sent over is in our room now? I can't wait to put it on and see how much of a difference it makes after the ritual." Maya looked towards Graian to see if he wanted to go up to their room with her or not.

Graian scoffed. "I don't get you at all. Pumped about having to walk up more than three sets of stairs every day to get to our dorms?" He shook his head. "Figures I'd get paired with you, Green." His familiar, a red eyed bunny, popped out of his bag. "Let's go check it out, then..." Picking up his familiar, he walked to the stairs and started walking up, and up, and up, and up...

Renee sulked behind Jurd as the man in front of them finished his speech. "Maaan, I can't believe we took a journey all the way over here just to find out my artifact makes me shiny." People around him were summoning chains and swords, and he summons some sort of shine over him? Sure, maybe he was incapable of wielding a weapon, but this was his only shot at getting something cool and powerful. "Hey, so where are we headed Jurd? I want to rest and maybe figure out just how my 'artifact' is suppose to work."

Claus & Charlotte
Claus and Charlotte were riding proudly to where they would be staying and studdying for a long time to come, together. Charlotte was excited beyond any possible countermeasure possible to combat it. She was almost jumping in her seat. Claus on the other hand was sitting still as a tree rooted deep into the earth. His hands tied around his chest, in his mind there was nothing but numbers, he was counting until the arrival of their prestiged carriage.

156... 155...

''Look Ichkazar, It's a bear!'' She exclaimed pointing towards it like a true child, unaware of any danger in this world. The bear, however surprising, waved at her as it bumped on it's behind. ''Don't call me that.'' Claus said coldly, closing his eyes. He was haunted by the only thing he had on his mind, the clock. It was counting, it's almost as if it was laughing at him. ''C'mon Ichkazar, look! It's a bear!'' She said grabbing onto Claus' elbow. The clock inside his mind stopped and Claus' eyes bolted open like the strike of lightning. Although he had seen many and more unique bears in his earlier life, this one had somehow become, special reasons beyond him. It was a normal brown bear, however it had somehow become the most rememberable bear in his life.

''Isn't it pretty?'' Charlotte asked as her eyes slowly walked their way into the eyes of Claus. Fully open, completely put in awe was Claus' response, however he was not sure, it felt as if life had paused for only him and Charlotte. He couldn't see the bear move nor could he see the carriage advance. One second had become 10 minutes, however he felt confort within the caring and calming eyes of Charlotte. Her navy blue hair complemented her eyes astoundingly. ''Yes...'' He stated after a long wait, Charlotte simply smiled and turned around yet again, however keeping her hand on Claus' elbow for a lack of a better place, given the fact that he was holding his arms in a cross just before his chest.

He turned back to his natural silent self and simply gazed forwards, trying to calm himself. Time was still standing still for him and it would feel like days before they finally arrived at the school. The beautiful carriage would be parked around the back of one of the buildings and the two hourses put in the stables. Claus and Charlotte on the other hand would go to and allow themselves to be horded together with the other students for their bonds to be created and their artifacts displayed.

154. Claus had only been able to count a minute inside his timeless dimension, his comprehensions of time had completely frozen. He felt joyous on their ride here simply because he was timeless. If he wasn't, then he would be at 13 minutes, 53 seconds and 44 miliseconds. He had planned it all, except the timelessness he would float in on their ride here.

As Claus and Charlotte were getting closer and closer towards the crowd, Charlotte began to detect a nervous change in Claus. The chaos of the situation was tearing his order from him and he stopped in his tracks. He clenched his hands and stared blindly at the crowd of students already getting along quite fine. Charlotte grabbed a hold of Claus' hand, not looking at him but just smiling as she started to step forwards, Claus following her without the least trouble anymore.

He felt as if his chains had lifted and instead of being plunged deep in the caverns he was flying together with an angel. If he could look down he would be able to see the hell which he just fled, however he know that this angels wings were not all bearing, they had to rest and thus he would return.

Before he knew it, the introductions made by the many mages, instructors and the sort were made in front of the large crowd of new students. It was quite the incredible gathering and no less amazing was the entrance speech and every instruction and introduction after that. Claus and Charlotte were picked to be amongst the first ones to do the bonding ceremony and the artifact summoning. They were guided by a very veteran looking magician clad in white robes.

There was a sort of ritual sight and it's blue glow simply put Charlotte in awe, Claus on the other hand remained as stone, cold and analytical as always. Both Charlotte and Claus were clad in royal robes and clothes from the Deniré house, however the magister took no care to that.

After a duration with many different incantations and many different feelings spinning around the ritual site which kept Claus and Charlotte in it's very middle. Soon an outlining of a clock surrounded the two of them, it glowed in a deep violet and it was spinning, however, Charlotte suddenly grabbed a hold of Claus' two hands and she orchestrated him to face her. The clock stopped and suddenly this deep violet glowed more greatly, and was more beautiful with every passing second, after a short while the violet boomed into everything and suddenly into nothing and after that Claus and Charlotte felt ever more enchanted together, through a sort of bond.

The Magician described everything about the situation, this was the Celestial Bond. The Magician would guide Charlotte out of the ritual sites center, however keeping Claus in the middle for the coming display. The Magician would place out careful and thorough instructions on how to unleash his artifact, and how to dismiss it from this realm.

Without a mistake, Claus immediately summoned the artifact by name as if he'd known it for eternity. Out of the ground, the armour seemingly attached itself from another dimension, seeping out of the ground. It connected with his feet, crushing themselves into position causing a slight flinch in the eyes of Claus. Within a couple seconds the armour had attached itself and he truly looked ferocious. Through an intrigued magician who casted a mirror spell and what Claus met was the appearance of the demon which had haunted him for long, it's name was Tempeshoro. Out of the helmets eye sockets a red mist began to creep out, floating to the sky, but evaporizing quickly.

The Magician was very intrigued by this very unique manifestation. The red robe around Claus' back put in place by the armours shoulder pads began to blow with the wind and on the left shoulder pad there was a clock, the time was 10 o'clock AM. On the Magicians orders Claus dismissed the armour which began to evaporate from his body, turning into the red like mist which had flowed from his eyes, nose and mouth just moments before.

---

After many minutes of pondering the Magician sent the two of them on their way. Both were silent, however Charlotte quickly clenched a hold around Claus' hand. They walked towards their dormatory building. They had been given a letter from the school two days before, however, they were met by a small gathering of people and a seemingly slightly sadistic dorm keeper. They were silent, Claus more so, as they listened to the dorm keeper and his slightly amusing speech about the dorm itself.

''Ichkazar, we've got our room on the third floor, let's go!'' She said as she dragged Claus with her, charging her way up stairs and across the halls was what she had brought Claus and herself to do, behind them were everyone else. They arrived quicker than Claus had expected, however all the time he had been trying to speak his words, but Charlottes speed had kept him from doing so. She was an incredibly energetic person, it was something Claus had abandoned.

Once they had arrived, Charlotte searched her pockets but to no avail, had she lost it, had she dropped it? Had someone stolen it? She turned around to try and find it on the ground, however she was met with Claus' hand, and in it was the key to their dorm room. ''Don't call me that.'' He said, hinting back to earlier, but Charlotte didn't 'hear it' because she was fully busy with opening the door to their priced dorm room. She was put in awe, it was a beautiful room, seemingly tailored to her liking, however unknowingly she had left everything with Claus at the door who was now bringing everything into the room and putting it in fitting places, he closed the door as her began to hear the other students rush up the stairs.

''Isn't it a beautiful room, Ichkazar?'' Charlotte exclaimed as she was inspecting every top and buttom, every crevace and even below the beds. Claus couldn't help but put a small, almost invicible grin on his lips as he searched his own part of the dorm, however he was interrupted by Charlotte jumping into his bed. ''It's so confortable~!'' The smile dissipated quickly and he looked into the cabinett on his side of the room. There it was, Kroll.

''Ichkazar, do you want to go out and meet some people?'' Charlotte asked as she turned around and layed on her back ontop of Claus' confortable bed. She was met with a long silence as Claus stood still in front of his cabinett, Charlotte could do nothing but look towards the back of him, just as she wanted to stand up and walk over to him she was met with a dominant ''Yes.'' She was almost put to the ground immediately as Claus turned around and faced her. ''You can go and meet some friends, I will leave a short while after I have inspected the room.''

Without a flinch on his face of emotion he simply stared at his roommate, Charlotte who raised herself out of the bed. ''Okay, I'll go do that!'' She said as she walked out of the room, opened the door and disappeared from Claus' eyes. Unknown to him was that she, at the moment of leaving the room changed her face completely. She looked down onto the ground, falling back towards the door with a silent 'thud' unable to be picked up by Claus' ears. With a sad expression she avoided the occational person who walked across her path and put on fake smiles whenever necessary. She was now on the first floor and when she left the dorm all together she jolted towards the woods, her face screaming of sadness and the occational tear rolling down her cheeks. Liar.

---

In the dorm room which Charlotte had left just a couple minutes ago stood Claus, silent he stood in the middle of the room, and when he knew that Charlotte wouldn't return for a while he walked over to his bed, He took off his shoes and climbed into his bed, putting the blanket around him he sulked in bed, staying silent, but terrorized by the clock ticking in his head. The room would spin around until he was faced with the darkness of the pit in which he is enchained, terrorized by the demon keeping him there.

He wanted to feel emotions but they didn't roll across his mind, he wanted for her to be here, but she was outside making friends of her own. He felt sadness but that was not of his own, it was a weird feeling which he couldn't let go. He felt squeezed by the chains and their dark might, he felt tortured by the mere pressence of the demon which had manifested itself as his armor and protection. It was ironic how his terror would defend him, but maybe it was the other way around.

He was unsure and in a single word he was teleported back to the dark room. ''Charlotte...'' There was no candlese lit for there was no need, he had simply drawn the curtains and and the room had become as dark as his nightmares. He wanted an escape and maybe he would find it soon, because time was ticking against him and towards the moon.

Ishye, stuck between awe at the huge dorm rooms and a strong desire to 'aquire' a jeweled dagger hanging from a nearby student's belt, did not hear the welcome given by the man in grey robes. His attention was brought back to the world as Valeria turned to him and gestured at the building in-front of them" "Best to get our room early." Once past the threshold and into the building Ishye gasped and fell still, staring in wonder at all the finery lining the walls, I mean he'd seen fine building's before but he'd never seen the inside! this was luxury on a scale he'd not even thought possible. He was dragged out of his thoughts as Valeria grabbed his hand and pulled him along, he mentally berated himself as he realized his lack of focus had been holding them up, he had a long way to go but at-least he had Valeria to guide him. She led him along the corridor and then to one of the first dorm room doors. With a push the expensive looking wooden door swung open silently to reveal their new home.

Simon warily gazed at the other students, who had summoned all sorts of highly dangerous apparatuses. He glanced down at his boots for a moment before glancing back at the building. He clutched tightly onto the base which was currently wielding his white flag, even amidst the shaking going through his arms. He stood in silence for a moment before he turned towards Shiloh. "I- whichever room provides the most quick means of escape." Simon took a deep breath in and out. It could be worse, you could be training under Father, who would drop you off in the middle of an active battlefield, just after breaking your leg so you know how to dodge.

Simon grew pale as he began shaking again. "L-lets just get to the room." Simon paused as he remembered the initial lecture the wizard gave. "Maybe test out that small kitchen. Hopefully it doesn't need repairs, or creates an unstable fire that can't be put down." His eyes bulged open, as a cold sweat poured down his face. "But what if there is no escape from that room, and that fire happens!? I don't want to burn alive, smelling my scorched flesh just before I die!" Simon clutched onto his white flag again, and glanced towards Shiloh. "S-so what do you want to do?"

CASINA REGULUS

---

Oh, oh, oh, this wave of mo-ther-fuck-ing THOUGHTS. THE ABSOLUTE WAVE OF SHIT THAT WAS BEING SHOVED HER WAY. AT THIS VERY MOMENT. It was....good? Nah, hell with THAT. No, she had been kidnapped not too long ago, had good friends, and had an even better family, but NOAP. Nope, nope, NOPE, NOPE, NOOOOOOOPE. FUCKING QUEEN OF CRAZY HAD TO GO THROUGH WITH THIS. You can't get over shit like that none too easily. The fact that someone higher up, can still kidnap people in a village. That THEY CAN DO FUCKING EVERYTHING. Nobody likes them, no, they have no friends.

You can't get over shit like that, gonna keep saying it. You can. Not.

And, the fact that a big-boobed 18-year-old apparently likes a tomboy that looks as if she is of the opposite sex that'd be in our modern high school. I mean, these are medieval times, so there isn't a high school....really. but, there's this. Which is the worst.

"Hello those of you unfortunate enough to be placed in this dorm. My name is Damien Krey. You may call me Mr. Krey. I will be running this dorm for the duration of your stay, so if you have any problems with the dorms, I am the mage to talk to."

'Fuck, Emily didn't get us in a better one? I knew it.' She thought. Emily was royalty, she should have had all the access to all the shit. Right...?

"The first floor has a few rooms, the foyer, which is more like a small lounge, so at least you have somewhere comfortable to sit. There is also a small kitchen, if you want to prepare yourself a meal in-dorm, instead of eating in the dining hall. The storage closet is also on the first floor. All other floors are dorm rooms, each floor holds 4 rooms, each room holds 2 people. I must tell you now, that your roommate is, and will always have to be your partner."

No. No. No. No. No. No. So, Casina has to room with Emily, the crazy bitch? Fuuuuck that. Nope. She'd rather have someone assassinate her, throwing her into the water and then stabbing her in a non-lethal place so she'd drown.

Ugh.

Emily had, through reputation, distinct facial impression and flaunting a large red Spear, convinced some of the non-magical assistants to carry her luggage to her room, in the biggest, most extravagant dorm on the campus, making sure that her darling Cassy was kept close at all times. She couldn't have anyone looking at her without sending them a 'your organs would look lovely on my mantelpiece' look. But then she was led to this...This...shack. A place Emily would not have even kept horses! If she had any horses, her father liked Horse meat and so all her ponies seemed to go missing...But, as it stood, she was trapped here, and people knew she did not like it. The man who had guided her here even announced 'Please don't stab me Madam' before fleeing with great haste. Now she was going to have to bully some other bastards to bring her luggage here. She could make a better house than this out of strategic placement of her suitcases. Or rather, getting Cassy to make a strategic plan, and some other whelp to build it for her. But seriously! She could hear the wind whistling though the building softly.

Once the man had finished his boring speech - with the only good part being that she would have Cassy with her as a room-mate for life, which would make anyone not lookin gat her and her not making flirty eyes at any of the men easier - she stormed up to the man, straightened her back and stuck her chest out. In her current dress, and heels, she struck an imposing figure, and her face was always in that 'borderline of Insane' style of look.
"How dare you stick me and my partner in this run-down shack! it is a disgrace! I should have you beheaded for the mere insult!" Emily shouted, brandishing her spear dangerously, and speaking with a regal, commanding tone.

"Heeeey man, just take it easy, eh? How about we take fourth floor? I'm thinkin' the room up there looks like it gets good sun, maybe set up some window boxes, you know?"
Shiloh yawned as he plucked a thin leaf from his familiar's back, placing deepweed into it and rolling it into a cylinder.
"Really, just as long as it got a nice bed I'm good. Thinkin' I might take a nap before I unpack. After I unpack, too. Hey, anyone got a light?"

Jurd was content with his magical powers. He could make mud. Lots and lots of it, as long as he had some water handy. It was a good mud, too, the kind that could be used for pottery or housebuilding or to grow plants, very similar to the one that had surrounded him for most of his life in the swamp. It felt natural to him. Karom felt different too, stronger but even more obedient and smarter than usual. He felt bad for his friend, though. He had the distinct impression that the mages in there weren't quite sure what his powers did. If they knew they sure weren't telling. "I don't know. I don't like it here, it's too crowded, I'd rather be in the forest right now. I'm sure there's lots of interesting stuff in there like mushrooms and herbs".

Simon eagerly nodded at Shiloh. "Y-yes! That room will provide a most useful escape passage when things go awry!" Simon smiled a bit, though he firmly kept both of his hands on the white flag, "Yes that room would provide ample light, so window boxes would go well there." Simon paused for a moment before staring at Shiloh, "Y-you..." He quivered a bit as he involuntarily flinched, "C-check the bed for the monsters! They thrive in the darkness under the bed. If you do not check, they are sure to open a portal from their world to take you down!" Simon felt his legs wobble as a cold sweat went down his brow.

"T-they'll cook you in a soup! And they'll chew on your bones like a feral dog! Ah, uhm." Simon tightened his grip on his white flag as he looked down and sneezed, as large globbels of mucus flew down to the floor, mixing with the spit and landing with an incredibly small wet and gushy plop. Simon glanced around the area as he mumbled to himself, "Ah, e-err uh, excuse me." Simon returned his glance to Shiloh as he spoke again, "W-we should probably head to the room now, Er uhm I suppose."

"Hmm, what could we do about that then?" His friend liked the wilds a lot, but Renee didn't really want to spend more time outside, oh how he longed for a bed. "I know, why don't we just take a room in the fourth floor and make it our own little forest then?" He suggested. He had spent a good amount of time in the wild with Jurd, making their room feel a little more like home for his friend wouldn't be that bad. "Yah, we could add some mud and dirt and stuff! I'm sure your little friend there would like it as well." He said while pointing to Jurd's insect friend.

"Whoa man, you gotta take it easy. You gonna make yourself sick with all that complainin', nuh? Here, hold this.", he handed Simon his deepweed cigarette, "Hey, anyone got a light for this guy? He needs it."
Leaving his partner to calm down on his own, Shiloh made two quick trips up the stairs, carrying a trunk each time, and placed them in front of the door to Simon and Shiloh's soon-to-be dorm. He took a quick five minute catnap, descended the stairs, grabbed the final trunk, and placed in front of the door. It was at this point he realized that he had, in fact, accidentally barricaded the door to his own dorm. Shrugging, Shiloh decided to simply lie down and fall asleep on top of them. Moving luggage was tiring work, after all.

The inside of Valeria's room was well enough suited to her tastes. As a 'knight' in training, she had little affinity for excessively expensive things and although the room was indeed well furnished it was not so much so that it was ostentatious. The bed was soft and the climate was fine, for what more could you ask? All the basics were there, a chest for miscellaneous, a mannequin and rack for her armor and weapons respectively, a small un-stocked bookshelf made for the placement of relevant texts. This was all enough for Valeria, perhaps even a bit more than enough; she was used to living simply. It didn't take long to get her meager assortment of items and weaponry arrayed in an order she deemed appropriate, removing the school's more fanciful frilled jacket in the process. It had been given to the less. . . economically gifted students upon entering the academy, but Valeria had little need for it, preferring a more comfy grey cotton shirt at the cost of appearing more like a peasant or servant. After waiting until Ishye had finished arranging his things the female knight spoke up with her suggestion. "Perhaps it'd be best if we met our new companions, assuming we have time."

"Heh," Maya said, grinning, "the exercise will do you good." When they arrived at their room, Maya say the Armor rack taking up space inconveniently in the room. The movers probably had no idea what to do with it. "Great! It's here!" Without taking off her current clothes, Maya took the armor pieces and began slipping them on. "If my body's strong enough, I'd like to go jogging everyday with this thing on. it took a while to wear all of it, during which time she listened to whatever Graian might have had to say about their current accommodations.

When she was fully suited up, she ran out to the hall, ready to test her newly gained endurance. In her haste, she ran into and knocked over a bunch of luggage that had onyl recently began blocking the hallway.

Ishye looked around the rather bare room and once Valeria had chosen her side he wandered over to his side and dumped his bag down in the corner, he'd unpack later, for now he wanted to try something. He crouched down, closed his eyes and concentrated.

He was in a dark forest, the moon glittering overhead sending gentle rays through the canopy, huge trees loomed over the path he was following crowding him in. The forest was silent, the sounds of insects and birds that normally filled a forest absent. Ahead where two trees leaned close together casting the path into an even darker shadow he thought he saw movement, a sort of shift in the shadow, he stopped, heart beating fast, and stared. The shadows shifted subtly again and then out of the shadow appeared two big glowing eyes.

He opened his eyes and gasped scrambling backwards as he took in the lithe black panther before him. The animal blinked but did not attack, slowly so as not to alarm it, Ishye moved closer, heart beating as it had in the forest he reached out his hand and slowly stroked the animals head, it purred in what he hoped was an appreciative manner.

There was a noise from over Valeria's side and he turned seeing that she was almost done unpacking, he turned back to the animal and concentrated again. He was back in the forest, the animal and him were stalking eachother now, both treading the shadows silently. Now he was in an open field, the sun beaming down on him and the animal nowhere to be seen. He opened his eyes, and the animal was gone.

Valeria spoke from behind him "Perhaps it'd be best if we met our new companions, assuming we have time."

Ishye straightened up and turned to face her "Of course, What kind of people do you think they'll be?"

As he waited for her to reply he checked that his flint tipped spear was still on his back, you could never be sure if you were safe where large groups of people gathered, he had found.

Shiloh stirred a bit as one of the trunks was nudged a bit, but not knocked over, because they were already laying flat on the ground.
"Hm? I oversleep again?"
He watched Maya leave the hall. He was mildly disappointed, as he had hoped it would be a hot chick.
Shiloh fell back asleep.