A few small crustaceans skitter away as you are all quickly shuffled off the boat by the ferryman onto a small wooden dock at the edge of the rocky cliffs of the island. A rickety wooden staircase leads away from the dock winding it's way up the cliff. For just a moment the entire structure sparkles as the light of the sun slowly rising behind you hits the layer of frost that had formed over everything just right. Everything is eerily silent for that moment and you get the feeling you are watching the entire world wake up. It only lasts for seconds though, as soon you hear the chirping of birds and the squawking of seagulls as they begin to circle overhead.

You all soon realize that the ferryman has already undocked the boat, silently as he has been the entire trip, and has left the twelve of you stranded on the island. The morning air chills you to the bone, and many of you have gathered into small groups to keep warm. All shivering from either the cold, or anxiety. Likely both. Despite this one boy, a small kid with bright red hair dressed in fine clothing befitting a nobleman, seems to have already started up the stairs. He does not get far though before a large gull swoops down nearly taking his head off, and lands on the stairs. It squawks wildly at him and beats it's wings, before violently pecking at the crayfish desperately trying to scuttle away around it. The boy lets out a terrified cry and runs back to the group, nearly slipping and sending himself toppling into the ocean in the process. Everyone looks around nervously hoping someone will take the initiative.

Excitement hummed against his very skin as Aleric dared to take a step forward. The frosty winds instantly assaulted him from behind, scattering locks of his already ruffled hair onto his pale complexion. The tail ends of his baby blue scarf were jostling in the breeze. He peered over his shoulders for one final glance toward his peers before he silently wandered toward the bottom of the stairs and stared up at the imposing steps. As much as he wanted to get huddle back into the warmth of the pack, only his mind was focused on one thought.

What was up the stairs? More seagulls? New lands? He couldn’t help but wonder, shifting his weight from foot to foot, as images of the Crystal Tower from picture books flashed within his mind. His mouth felt dry at the very thought, the cold no longer bothering him, as his curiosity was at its peak. He already felt exhilarated from the scent of the salty sea and the foreign sound of seagulls, all of which were new experiences that he had only seen on the pages of a book. Should he go up? He was already at the base so he--

CREAK

Before he even registered what he had done, he was already on the move, calmly climbing from one rickety step to another despite the frost covered surface. Although, he should've taken the red-headed boy's failed attempt into consideration as he was soon within the gulls' line of sight. It wasn't long before the gulls started to cause a racket at Aleric’s sudden appearance as what seems to be an army of them started swooping dangerously near his head. He quickened his pace while his expression was seemingly calm. However, anxiety crept all along his body as, in all honesty, it was a bit nerve-wrecking to be somewhat targeted and screeched at by a flock of foreign birds.

Elysia stepped out of the boat, holding her blue jacket tighter around her. The jeans and butterfly covered t-shirt beneath weren’t keeping her very warm on their trip across the water, and the chill still ran up her while the spray hit towards their backs. She hesitated saying anything, large hazel eyes drifting to the wooden staircase they were surely meant to scale. Glancing behind her, she saw their ferryman rowing back away, and she knew there was no turning back. ”Hmm…” she breathed softly, before turning back and watching first a red haired boy try climbing the stairs, but then get frightened back by dipping seagulls. Her eyebrows knitted together at the mean old birds.

Well, this was not the welcome Kirona had painted for Eysia’s mind before she left. She had barely gotten to say goodbye to her father before she was taken away to the boat either. Whatever knowledge she’d gained over her short life span, she could only hope it was enough. After all, she had no idea what these others could do or how much training they’d had. She was sure they were all incredibly talented though.

A braver boy than the first began to ascend the stairs, and Elysia looked to the others, specifically the red haired boy who had tried first. ”It’s alright! Look! He’s fine! Let’s go!” she smiled brightly, bringing a ray of sunshine to the meek atmosphere before moving quickly from where her feet had been planted. She stood at the base of the staircase, beginning to hop from one step to another in a sort of game, smiling and giggling with each creak. Her sneakers squeaked while the wood groaned, until she had second thoughts about jumping, especially when splinters began cracking off to the side of the planks. Taking a moment, she then began moving quickly and lightly until she was right behind the boy with the blue scarf. ”Get out of here!” she scolded the birds surrounding both of them now, a frown on her face as she waved her arms at them in protest between calm hums of a song from home seeping between her tan lips.

”They’re ugly, hungry things, huh?” she called to the boy ahead of her, glancing behind to see if anyone else had followed.

Erabus looked around and watched the boat slowly sail away before turning and seeing people all around him, he rubbed his arm's trying to get warm as the chill slowly set into his skin and he watched as people started to ascend the stair's before walking forwards and looking at the boy with red hair, "It will be alright." he said and looked at the stair's one more time as the creaking became lighter as the other 2 people climbed.

Slowly he took his first couple of step's up the stairs before moving quickly to get right behind the girl in a blue jacket, seeing her look back he gave her a small smile, "How high up do you think these stairs go?" he asked her curiously looking down as he stepped and felt the wood crack underneath him, he wondered how long ago these had been built cause they hadn't been well taken care of. Though he quickly moved to the next step and started to step lighter though the creaking continued no matter how light he stepped the sound slowly digging it's way into Erabus's brain and he started to rub his arm's a little faster getting colder as the sound annoyed him.

The girl in the brown poncho giggled when the birds attacked the boy. She had to. It was the only thing she'd seen today that wasn't fog or the expression of fear and worry she saw mirrored in the face of every other kid on this barge, a welcome relief even. A few children around her were talking, in soft tones and far too many vowel for any decent language. Nothing that could interest her. Jasveer pushed aside a girl as gently as she could, with a nod and a smile in order to dissaude him from refusing, and walked a few paces until she was at arms length to the cliff edge. An arm peeked out from under the mass of furs, and touched the cliff. She rapped her knuckled against the edge, and felt the smoothness. The erratic sunlight was making the sediments hard to make out, it was too difficult. But this stuff right here was brown basalt. Was there lava around these parts? Must be. There's no other way so much cooled magma could've formed into a cliffside. But this would make her plan a lot easier. The layers here were reddish, and rust coloured. Finding a source of iron wouldn't be difficult, at least. Would there be soil around the crystal tower? Possibly. Not as likely. Soil needed a good farmer, and any decent farmer learnt to avoid students or magistry like the plauge. But no matter. Not important right now.

Jasveer blinked, fumbled in a pocket, and pulled out a small stick of off-white rock. She marked a little circle on the rock in chalk, and turned around like she'd not commited a petty act of vandalism. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice the desert girl in all the commotion. Still, nobody was coming to get them. Worrying, that. Maybe this was a test, to see who passed through the trial of the seagulls? She wouldn't put it past wizards, they were known to be sneaky, like that.

Aella had sat and watched the other students come and go up the stairs, content after watching a few go she stepped up herself. There was a fair amount of wind going on so she didn't need to do much except make a few small gusts strong enough to send crayfish flying off the sides and send the hungry seagulls after them. Her master had taught her these things enough to be of use here at the tower, so she enacted her plan and sent crayfish out of her way and the seagulls went after them.

When she made it up the stairs she was sweating quite a bit from the effort and the climb but she made it and without killing herself from doing it. There were already a few who made it up ahead of her and she sat a good distance away from any of them and tried to catch her breath and so she could watch them, they were all strange all from different walks of life and different places in the world but that might of been a good thing.

While Raghu was the first to get off the boat, he didn't make it far onto the stony shore. His wobbly knees only permitted him a few steps before he fell to them softly. For several hours he had endured the steady, unfamiliar sway of the waves, and though nausea had fortunately eluded him, the feeling had enervated him severely. Needless to say, collapsing to the ground in front of six other kids about his own age was very embarrassing, especially since four of them were girls.

He turned around into a sitting position and grinned at the others blearily, but it looked like their collective focus was elsewhere. Upon watching the others rub shoulders, cluster together, and otherwise attempt to get warm, he was suddenly struck by how cold he was himself. Festive colors, which Raghu had in abundance, didn't necessarily make for warm clothing. His mind instantly raced for a way to both make himself warmer and make himself stand out; his father always said that a good first impression was important.

As the well-dressed ginger attempted to ascend the untrustworthy stairway, Raghu turned around to face the sea. Even in the short time they had been on land, the quiet boatsman had already vanished into the blanket of mist on the water's surface. The boy closed his eyes, and began to breath in, oblivious to the seagull-induced hubbub behind him. As Raghu inhaled, he held his hands around his mouth as if he was preparing to call someone, and the air rushing into his lungs took on a reddish hue, suffused by heatwave. A small but bright orange glow shone from his mouth, though nobody was in position to witness it. Before Raghu could properly Expel, however, a splash of sea foam from a breaking wave entered his gullet, and he coughed violently. A jet of sizzling-hot air burst from his mouth and hit the water, where it created steam. Fora few seconds Raghu coughed violently, hoping to keep from making a scene.

When he finally turned around, he found himself completely alone. In less than half a minute, everyone else had made their way up the stairs. He could see them up the path, fending off seagulls. “At least nobody saw that,” Raghu muttered, and he hurried up the stairs after them with an uncomfortable fire in his belly.

About halfway to the rest of the group, Raghu abruptly ran into someone else. He flinched out of surprise and almost fell over backward. In his haste, he hadn't even seen the girl, whose stone-gray robe made her blend in with the seaside rock face impressively well. “Whoa,” he spouted out, fixing his belt. “Where'd you come from?”

The silence. That eery, cold, silence. The silence of the world holding its breath- only for it all to come rushing back out and giving life to the scene. It was these moments that Layna loved. The breath was held, all was still, then exhaled and the world was pushed into motion. It was a moment worthy of noticing.

The girl with the red hat stood, last to get off the boat, and grinned a horribly lopsided grin. A silly grin, if you will. She was bound in a red cloak, a cloak that was embroidered with black stars. A cloak that kept out the cold. A heavy, thick, cloak. These were the two most noticeable things about the lass; the red hat with the feather, and the heavy red cloak that was far too large for her.

She, good naturedly, waited for everyone to depart before she did, and was rather glad of the results; she emerged from the ferryman's boat, found this wondrous scene displayed before her, and even got a good laugh out of it in the form of a seagull startling a lordling! She giggled, despite feeling that she really shouldn't. It wasn't nice, the boy was just surprised it all...

Oh, wow. Two of the boys were already taking a tumble it would seem- one of them had collapsed after emerging from the boat. She felt more sympathetic for both of them than she probably should- but they were in a new place and she would try and feel for these other people as much as she could. The other kid seemed to almost go in for another dip in the sea though, so...

She dashes over and catches the lad before he goes tumbling into the ocean- or, at least, puts herself in his path and tries not to go toppling in herself. Well, you get the idea. She just tries to make sure he's okay, is all.

"It's alright, chum." She said with her crooked grin. "I'd have already been halfway back home if that'd been me!" She laughed at herself and generally tried to be cheery, not wanting anyone to get picked on or left out -already-.

By the time she turned back to what was going on, the precession of children had already taken a turn for the progressive; They were starting to head on up the stairs! birds or no birds, Layna supposed, they were going to end up at the top. Either way, the girl was bound to not get left behind- she suddenly had back all the energy she'd lost over the trip.

...the girl off to the side did escape her notice, though. She was too caught up in the commotion of the seagulls.

So, taking the boy's hand, she began to lead him after the rest of the group, up the stairs. She wasn't going to leave him behind nor attempt to stand out too much from the rest of the children- not yet, at least. If the cloak and hat- which she is firmly holding to her head with the other hand- don't set her apart much yet, they are bound to in the end.

There was this calm chap up front. Those gulls were being very persuasive, Layna thought, and yet he just kept on trudging along. She didn't know how to feel about that, but she felt a tad calmer just looking at him herself. Then there was the girl with the blue jacket; she just seemed much cheerier than the rest, and Layna could appreciate that. She herself always tried to keep a smile on people's faces, after all.

The boy following them didn't stand out much to Layna, but being third in line is never interesting. She made a mental note to get to know all of these people better. Every single one of them. They came across in the same boat, and that was enough for Layna to consider them tied together in some way.

The girl who used magic made Layna uncomfortable, but that's what she was here to do- learn magic. Her trick of tossing the crayfish away made things easier for those following her, as well...but Layna'd hate to be the gal if the seagulls started associating her with food!

"...I'm quite excited, you know..." She said to the lad she pulled along. "I mean, I never thought I'd be a wizard myself." She giggled, still holding the hat firmly down- trying to distract her cohort from the seagulls...to no avail, most likely, but she did have a certain skill with words that seemed to draw one in if they listen closely.

She didn't pay too much attention to the others. She'd have time to learn who they were when they reached the top, or later on if they were still together- but for now, this red haired boy in the finery was her focus. She felt a pang of guilt though; what if he didn't want to be pulled along by her?...It was too awkward now to let go, though, lest he fall again...

It is a long march up the creaky wooden stairs, as a cold morning breeze buffets you as you climb. There are shivers all around but at least the climb up the stair keeps your blood flowing. Up the side of the cliff, you think you see some rocks moving, but upon further examination you you realize that they are actually large snails of some sort, some as big as your head. They are moving ever so slowly down the cliff face, and every so often a huge crab pops out of a small cave in the cliff face, grabs one, then retreats into the cliff.

The gulls dive after the crayfish beaks snapping in a wild frenzy, a few pack and snap at each other even though there are plenty to go around. A few get brave enough to nip at a young girl with sandy blonde hair, wearing a plain brown skirt. She yelps, and an older boy dressed in rough sailors clothes steps in the way and plants a kick squarely in the gull's face. It squawks and flies back and the others shy away from the duo from now on.

As you near the top of the stairs you see a tall man dressed in dark blue blue robes with silver runes embroidered around the sleeves and the base. He has shoulder length white hair, the color of snow, and bright violet eyes. He looks older, although he stands completely straight, his skin is well worn and wrinkled. You hear a screech and a falcon dives and lands on his shoulder. "Welcome" he says in a even voice with the bare hint of a foreign accent. "To the Crystal Tower. I am Crythos. I will be showing you around. Please follow me."

Aleric blinked several times before he noticed that someone had just spoken to him. He looked over his shoulders to see a girl in a blue jacket following closely behind along with several others trailing a few steps away. Some of the kids were some distance off, some of them were resting, while others had difficulties with the wildlife specifically the seagulls in the middle of their feeding frenzy. It suddenly struck him just how far he had traveled and how much he was missing out on the scenery in his haste for answers..

Pausing for a moment, he gave a quiet smile to the girl dressed in blue, his inner anxiety slowly edging away. While he wasn't a social butterfly or much of a conversationalist, he actually enjoyed talking. Besides, the girl seemed nice enough, her tone light and friendly. His lush green eyes drifted pass her for a moment. Out of the corners of his eyes, he watched what one might consider animal abuse as a boy in a sailor suit gave a good kick to a gull after it snap at some poor girl.

“They're really nasty. Are we really that edible?” He nodded in agreement. Although he pitied the seagull, he can't really build much sympathy for them if they keep targeting their heads. He barely managed to tug at his scarf, pulling it out of the path of a speeding seagull in time. “But they’re bold to be attacking wizards-in-training!”

As he neared the top, his feet suddenly scrapped against the frost that covered the wooden steps as he forced himself to stop. Nearly planting his face into dark blue fabric, he took a few steps back and steadied himself by reaching for the rocky ridges. He stared at what seemed to be an elderly wizard - judging by the silvery runes that covered his robes and unperturbed tone – who introduced himself as Crythos.

That was… very sudden. The man came out of nowhere! As much as he wanted to poke at the silverly runes lining the stranger’s robes, Aleric held himself back as questions started to bubble on his tongue. Where did he come from? What's up with the falcon? Do falcons usually appear during this time of the year? What do those runes do? Oh so many questions yet so little time. He looked to his peers with curious eyes before setting his gaze back onto the man when the Crystal Tower was mentioned.

Like a wanderer he is, he calmly followed after the man, with slow and steady steps. He figured that following this man to the answers will be much more satisfying than interrogating.

Aella had been lost in thoughts of home when someone bumped into her, apparently she was invisible when she looked at the boy she was in for a case of culture shock he wore clothes so bright they hurt her eyes, and his skin was darker than any she had ever seen. He asked where she had come from. "The boat same as you." She replied giving a very simple answer and seemingly dismissing him, it was around this time a wizard seemed to appear out of nowhere, his falcon companion also seemed to materialize out of nothingness "I need to learn how to do that." She thought, the strange kid and the wizards strange robes and abilities made her realize how alone she was and she started to miss home. Her master didn't see her off said he would be busy so she never got to say goodbye and Aella hated leaving goodbyes left unsaid. For a moment before she followed the wizard she looked off into the distance looking towards home wondering what the kids in the slums where doing, wondering if her master had found somebody else, tears began to form in her eyes as she felt the pangs of regret for leaving her home, but she wiped them away hopefully before anyone noticed.

The wizard seemed to walk without much sound, but Aella wasn't taken in by the wizard anymore, she was more of taken in by the whole tower all around her she would sometimes stop to touch things or look at them more closely before slightly jogging to catch up with everyone else lest she get left behind and she did not want to be left behind staring like an idiot at some dumb door or wall but this information was useful stuff to her. She also noticed some of the kids sliding up to each other and talking getting to know each other but she didn't say anything to anyone just watched and listened for names so she could store them away for later. "All uphill from here." She thought taking in the group and her new home at the same time, for the third time in her life she was alone and it scared her.

Elysia saw the boy behind with blonde hair when she’d turned around and asked her how high up the stairs went. ”Too high!” she laughed, bright smile shining before turning back to make sure she was going to trip moving up more and more steps. She watched her feet mostly, every once in a while glancing up to the boy ahead of her who smiled and paused for a moment before asking if they were really that edible. Elysia giggled, deciding this group was a nice one already and determined making friends should be easy. Her father had always told her she had a knack for making friends, but one couldn’t make friends with those who were too closed off either.

Her eyes glanced behind her again and saw some of the others. One girl drawing circles, others still straggling behind or seeming scared. She assumed it was just jitters. Maybe others weren’t as used to transitioning from one place to another like she had before in her life, but then again she’d never been anywhere like this either.

She looked ahead of her again to see the boy’s scarf almost being ripped from him before saying the birds were bold to attack wizards. ”And witches!” she chimed in, jumping off the last step and onto some ice. She began to slip, feet sliding out and about underneath her until she fell forward onto her hands and knees and slid just a foot or so towards a stranger in blue robes. Blushing red as her face tilted upwards at the man, she gave a sheepish smile and secretly wondered if the man was 100, or 150.

Welcome he spoke, and Elysia quickly got up and stood, knees of her jeans a darker shade now from the cold ice melting somewhat against them. ”Thank you!” she said brightly to Crythos as he said they were on to the Crystal Tower. She glanced at the others and wondered if that was an odd thing to say. Some of the others were being awfully quiet after all. She fell in line with some of the others, staying closer to the two she’d already spoken to though she wasn’t one to make one friend and stick to them like glue. ”My name’s Elysia,” she whispered with a smile to the others, not knowing if she was supposed to talk during this excursion or not.

Raghu blinked. “The same boat...? Oh, hahaha! Nice one. Really fortuitous of me to run into someone so funny, huh? Hah! Run into!” His merry smile showed off his pearly white teeth as he chuckled. The opportunity to throw out a fancy“I slay myself. Gotta run, though.” Abruptly, he noticed that the girl had turned around, seemingly dismissing him. With a mollified glare at the back of her head, Raghu dashed passed her, intent on closing the final few meters between him and the rest of the group. Though he slipped several times, none proved serious and he quickly resumed his ascent on each occasion. He noticed as he neared the huddle of kids that the gulls had pretty much abandoned them; clearly, there was safety in numbers.

As one of the tallest in the group, Raghu didn't need to shoulder anyone aside to see Crythos. The bone-white hair and elaborate, ceremonial robe instantly impressed him, though Raghu was unable to get a good look at his face before his elder turned away to lead the students to the Crystal Tower. When the cluster began to move, Raghu followed on their heels. The walk proved to be somewhat irritating to him, since his strides were longer than most of the others, and his position at the back meant he had to pace himself. For one so eager to enter this legendary school of magic, patience came hard.

After a few moments, he heard a girl's voice. “My name's Elysia.” she said. Normally Raghu wouldn't have bothered to answer, since this 'Elysia' walked several feet in front of him, but the silence around him was becoming stifling. “Raghu Siddhartha!” He declared, nearly shouting. The awkward quiet that pervaded the children made his voice seem louder than it was. Undeterred, he continued. “Proud son of Dev and breath mage extraordinaire!” His unusual method of declaration would likely seem confusing to the others; they might very well interpret Dev to be his parent, where it was actually the city he grew up in. Such a thought didn't occur to him as he crossed his arms and flashed a wide, bold grin at anyone who looked his way.

Lyna is very glad she still has her cloak. The girl ducks her head down and quickly pulls the cloak tighter about herself, before focusing back on the bat at her head. The red hat, which covered her messy red hair adequately, was especially dear to her- it'd be a shame if the wind and gulls carried it away, eh?

Those snails. They were cool. Layna paused, still holding the red-haired chap's hand, and looked at one of these...snails.

"...That's awesome..." She whispered quietly- and her amusement lasted right on up to a massive crab popping out of an unseen cave and grabbing one of the snails. "...W-Well then..." She sputtered, before moving on a little more quickly than before. She didn't mind the gulls herself, but those crabs were unnerving.

Speaking of the gulls-- that lad just kicked one. Layna's focus was being ripped in all directions at once, and she was having trouble keeping up with events; the boy kicked the gull, the stairs are nearing their top, a girl is being assaulted by the bird, the boy has a rough uniform on, the stairs used to creak, Layna's hands are sweaty, she just got to the top of the stairs, the other girl's hair was sandy blonde-- all this information seemed to be flooding her quite hurriedly as she tried to soak up as much as she could...

Her focus is snapped to a single man before her, even her grip on the boy's hand going forgotten for now. Dark robes, silvery runes, and white hair. The screech, the falcon, the almost unnoticeable accent... 'Crythos'.

Layna breathed in. Layna breathed out. Her focus was settled, and the unecessary information dulled out. It was hard for the girl not to start spazzing out and jumping around. She simply had too much energy- especially in serious situations like this. It's strange how things work out that way.

She looks to the other kids around her and patiently tries to size them up- metaphorically speaking. She's trying to judge who they are, but this was never one of her strong suits as a magician. The ever calm boy, the kindly girl in blue, the rough sailor boy and the timid-looking sandy hair girl, the strange tall lad- 'Raghu' he had said his name was, Layna recalled as the situation caught up in her mind- Elysia, poor gal had slipped and slid...Layna was glad of her boots. She actually released the boy's hand now that they were safely at the top of the stairs and sheepishly stepped away, rubbing her arm a bit embarassedly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to hold ya quite that long..." She said apologetically.

And then the group was moving. Layna waited another moment, looking from Crythos to the tower...

"...I am Nyx Caeli..." She mumbled, a bit of a promise in the words. She nodded then, to nothing in particular, and removed the hat with a flourish, whispering to herself as she did a rather fantastical bow...The cloak even flourished as well from the movement, as if this was a very practiced action...

Just to rise up and place the hat back onto her head firmly, her ever-lopsided smile present once again as she walked, now alone, along behind the vast majority of the group. Seems the girl just bolstered her confidence a tad.

Scratch. Circle. Scratch. Another circle. Jasveer bent down, and surrepticiously scratched a circle on the staircase there, too. Each little chalk outline was marked with a tiny little inscription inside, barely two wiggly lines. It wasn't a code or anything, just runes. They helped her concentrate. And right now, despite the cold and sea breeze, the girl in the brown poncho was sweating. Each step she took up the long flight of stairs was slow, thoughtful. At least until someone shouted at the top and she jumped, scared out of her wits of the punishment that would inevitably happen. Oh. It was just a kid, somewhere at the front of the gathered flock of children. She couldn't see why he'd yelled, but it'd still broken her concentration. She turned back to the staircase, and moved out of the way of the last aspiring magician who came out. She gave him a smile. He gave her a wierd sort of wink, which quite startled her.

After a small moment for her to regain her concentration. She turned back to the convoy, and set to walking in that same slow, leisurely pace that she'd been taking all the way up the stairs. As she walked, her brow knitted and became beady with sweat as she concentrated on a few chalk marks several yards away.

On the cliffs, there was nothing but seagulls and moss, desperately trying to cling to their little niche of land where the earth and saltwater met. One hopped across a nice crag, pecking at some of the richer areas looking for food. It came across a convenient crag and settled down in it to roost. With one beady bird eye, it glanced at the walls of the cliff. There was something new on it. Something white, circular. and etched onto the wall. It was glowing, slightly. As it watched, the chalk outline became grey, waxy, reflecting the light of the barely risen sun with a strange, ethereal light all of it's own. Behind it, the earth was moving in tiny, tiny increments as rust broke down into air and earth and pure iron moved in snakelike ways close to the sygil, wrapping itself around the marks that were forcing the very earth itself to heel. The circle, now silvery and raised over the rock made slight pinks as it cooled against the fresh air. And all along the cliffs, a few more were going through the same process.

The girl in the brown poncho breathed out in one gasp, satisfied in the knowledge of a job well done. Those would last better then chalk did, and she could come back later with a wheelbarrow and reap the iron quicker this way. She picked up her pace and hopped along at the back of the pack.

As the group continued to follow after Crythos, Aleric looked to the girl in blue. He couldn’t help but smiled in return when she introduced herself as Elysia, and his lips parted to reply. Suddenly, a loud voice came crashing into the quaint calm like a bar fight in a library. He twisted around to the source of such vigor – a boy in popping vibrant colors who clearly stood out from the dreary frosty background. Tilting his head with his eyes brows raised, he nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Aleric,” he politely greeted; his tone was even since someone had already introduced themselves either through a whisper or a shout. He wasn’t really the type to the yell, especially after spending much time in silence. Although… why were they even yelling or whispering in the first place? They weren’t in a library, and if someone could hear a whisper a few feet away, then he could only guess that everybody in the group could hear at any other volume. As his eyes gazed flickered between Elysia and the boy who introduced himself as Raghu, he straightened up with interest. Perhaps it was a cultural thing, something he doesn’t have much knowledge in.

He was almost tempted to drop a few feet back to get closer to the older boy in vivid clothings, but thought otherwise as there were kids between him and that person. Instead, his ears pricked as his eyes stared widely at Raghu.

“What’s a breath mage?” He asked Raghu in his usual even tone; although, his voice was laced with wonder and eager. He had never heard of such a word, yet it sounded vaguely familiar to him. Perhaps some books had mentioned it in passing or some ancient script his teacher mentioned only to find interest in another scroll?

“Where are you from? What can a breath mage do? Is the magic of a breath mage related to the wind element? Could they manipulate breath?” Already, despite never having spoken a single word on the boat and his seemingly quiet appearance, questions fired from his mouth like rapid shots. The dam had sprouted a leak, and now his eyes were glistening with interest and questions that wanted answers.

In reply to the voice coming from behind him, Raghu turned partially and waved, though he didn't stop walking. The younger boy who had just introduced himself as Aleric looked to be a complete foil to him; where Raghu's skin was approximately the hue of rust, this guy's was very light, verging on pale. While the Siddhartha garbed himself in vivid, eye-popping blues and reds, the Scitor's theme seemed to be 'drab and unremarkable'. Wild, sand-colored hair effectively contrasted Raghu's own straight, pitch-black locks. And so far, whereas Raghu had almost certainly by now drawn the most attention to himself, he could barely remember having seen Aleric at all during the boat ride; this was the first time he had heard the younger's boy's voice, in fact.

None of this really mattered, though, and Raghu's young mind barely touched upon it. Difference wasn't something he necessarily minded. Any remaining thoughts he had vanished when Aleric asked him about breath mages. For a second, Raghu was caught in a quandary. Did this kid want to a basic summary, or a full-blown explanation? Raghu possessed the verbosity to do either, but that in itself was an issue; 'breath mages' wasn't an official classification, more of a title he had invented on the spot for theatrical effect and to make a prominent first impression on the others.

These concerns were then washed away by Aleric's flood of questions. Though initially surprised by the eagerness of a guy who had been so quiet up until this point, Raghu was quick to realize that Aleric's interest was more than just cursory. Never one to throw away a chance to show off, Raghu abruptly stopped walking and began to speak.

First, he inhaled sharply. Not nearly deep enough to gather the amount loose aether necessary to be able to cast a spell, but enough for a blue-green glow to escape from his mouth every time he spoke. While he hadn't thought up a name for this little technique, Raghu knew it tended to impress, particularly littler kids. “Can you guess? Instead of using my mind to get and control magic, I use my lungs. When I breath in, I take in magic from my surroundings. When I breath out, I can do all sorts of neat things with it. Watch!”

Raghu inhaled deeply this time. The air streaming into his mouth became visible, a light green flow. Once full, Raghu turned his head skyward, and cupped his hands around his mouth. When he exhaled, the breath exploded from his mouth in a wave of force, moving upward and flattening out against a nearby wall. This rattled some frost free, causing it to sprinkle down a few feet away from the main group. “Pretty cool, right? I learned it in Dev, where I'm from. And yeah, wind element. Good guess.” He didn't seem to mind making a spectacle of himself.

Elysia heard a bolstering voice announce their name as Raghu Si… something or other Son of Dev and breath mage? Hmmm, she wasn’t sure what a breath mage was. Must be some kind of air mover. She giggled a bit at the boy, but not in a way to make fun of him. She just thought he was funny, with his wide grin and big, cat like smile. Another girl after him, Nyx Caeli. Well, that was a pretty name. And the girl bowed after her introduction. It was interesting… like a performer. Elysia’s smile widened further. These people were going to be fun after all. Perhaps she’d even end up glad she left home. It seemed whatever ice had formed on their personalities over the course of the boat ride was thawing.

”Nice to meet you too,” Elysia smiled back at Aleric before the boy turned and began asking Raghu all sorts of questions. The same ones Elysia had had, but ones she didn’t feel like asking. After all, whatever they all could do, whatever they all were, was surely to be revealed.

Many of the other kids kept quiet, and Elysia looked to them with an expectant expression, one that asked what their names were without saying anything out loud. But it was boring her when they remained silent so her attention was rapt back to Raghu. He was breathing out a weird glow and then inhaled before blowing out and hitting a wall with the force exhaled from his body. She blinked a few times before clapping rapidly. ”Oh that is neat!” she exclaimed, eyes with new eagerness. She wanted to watch what everyone could do! Seeming to forget she had abilities as well.

Even father behind layna lagged the little noble boy. The one that the gulls had attacked. He seemed terrified of them, and rightfully so whenever he started to make his way up the cliff a gull would swoop in after him and peck at his face. There were already a few bloody streaks running down his face from where they broke the skin. He was bearing this all silently and slowly gathering up the courage to slowly make his way up the cliff.

The top of the cliffs are covered in a a variety of short brown grasses and a spattering of green mosses and lichens over the occasional large limestone boulder that littered the landscape. Occasionally there were small scuttlings in the grass of field mice picking out small seeds for their breakfast, or small lizards snatching the mice for theirs. Crythos makes his way towards the small arrangement of buildings surrounding the base of the Crystal tower. The town was called Toles, and it was not so much a town, as it was a couple of inns, with a smattering of general stores, and the occasional sheep or potato farm a few miles out. The Crystal Tower was the main attraction, and Toles was there solely to support it and it's inhabitants.

"Well it seems like some of you are already becoming acquainted." Crythos says a small smile spreading across his lips, "Why don't we all introduce ourselves?" he suggests. The falcon tilts it's head back at you all, eyeing you with a passive curiosity for a moment before a small lizard draws its attention away.

Apollo smiled running up alongside Crythos he had arrived earlier and had been instructed to wait for his classmates to arrive so they could enter the tower together. Running up he eyed the nervous crowd of kids before him, he gave them all a warm smile and a wave as Crythos instructed them to introduce themselves. Apollo deciding that as he should break the ice, giving a small bow as he had been taught to show respect. "Hello everyone I'm Apollo, I'm one of your classmates I arrived here last night, but I've been waiting in the inn for the rest of you. I look forward to studying magic with you all and hope we can be friends." He tried to sound confident after all they looked scared as he had last night. Pulling his gray cloak tightly around him as his red hair blew in the wind the young boy hoped they assembled kids would be nicer than those back home.