Man's stone brought him to the infirmary where he observed Apollo. The infirmary had a desk in one corner, with white curtains hung for privacy on either side of the cot. The front of the cot faced the place where the curtains weren't but the desk was. A small monitor sat atop the desk, along with papers. A folder also lay on the desk, with a file about Apollo. It also had his class schedule, dorm number, and his ranking. Man did a quick overview of his injuries and decided they were not worth being immediately fixed, so instead Man stayed in the shadows.
The boy awoke sooner then he had expected. He immediately cursed which Man grimaced at. Apollo was lucky he didn't have any classes with Man or he would be immediately reprimanded for such disrespectful behavior. Apollo walked around for a bit, appearing to search for something he had lost. He then sat and finally noticed Man. Without even so much as an introduction, he asked Man if he'd seen a sword around. "Who do you think you are? You will talk to me with respect. You will introduce yourself, and then ask politely for my name. Then I will consider your requests." Man said, enunciating each word perfectly, and punctuating each sentence with more finality then periods.
Garrooth simply gave Azrael an acknowledging nod, before watching him move through the doors of flame. "The Labyrinth of Hope is open to all students, so long as they are courageous enough to enter again, though some spirits loath your presence here . . ."
The voice of the spirit faded as Azrael passed through the doors, and with his entrance, it closed behind him, and at once the temperature dropped. Despite the intensity of the flames, they were cold and chilled to the bone. Azrael's breath came out in fogs of cold, and he was surrounded by nothing but darkness. A voice echoing around him called out:
"Please wait here, until your opponent finishes their initial exam, Mr. Arcana. Oh, and congratulations on a job well done. It's a pleasure to have you at our Academy."
The voice was warm, in sharp contrast to his freezing surroundings, with a tone that would be familiar to everyone - it was a voice that everyone kept within them, a voice that they would instinctively recognize even if they had never experienced it before. A voice that cared, and a voice that soothed you, and lulled you to sleep, that protected you from the nightmares of the dark, and assured you when you needed it the most. A voice that all living things craved for, no matter the passage of time.
The voice of a mother.
Azrael slowly relaxed as he realized that he'd have a short time to put the last encounter behind him. Despite the cold of this plane, AA sat on the cold floor, coming to rest in a crossed leg position. Connecting his hands, fingers meeting fingers to form an 'o', the young man began to breath deeply, countering the chill with his own meditations. Soon, there was a small ring of fire around the lad, creating strong currents as these flames met their otherworldly counterparts. The two battled constantly, yet Azrael paid no heed, so engrossed in his trance. His energy resonated within himself, warding the effects this plane could do to his muscles. Fatigue was one issue, but cramping from too cold limbs would be a larger one if he didn't continue his easy exercise.
His eyes were closed, not to be opened until he heard that warm voice once again. It was strange, how deeply that disembodied voice resonated within his soul, casting him farther back in his memories than he'd ever consciously been able to go. It brought to him a very powerful feeling of love as the tender touch of a feminine hand stroking his hair and the feeling of sleepy serenity as he napped on the lap of the owner of that very hand. This, more than his meditations, brought him a fierce strength and he felt the ring of fire grow higher and faster in its ever present circuit around him. He was ready for his next opponent, whoever they may be.
Apollo let out a groan. He did not have time for this. He wrote on his sketchbook again.
'Sorry sir, I suspected that you could read my name on that machine over there, along with those cameras on the ceiling. But Anyways, My name is Apollo Eros, Mr... Man I presume. If that machine tells you my name then it should also tell you my ability. I guess I have no need to tell you how I know your name'
Apollo said as his aura began to flicker. The Sword was pretty far, and since Apollo didn't have any kind of magic he had no way to recall the sword. He began to blink quickly.
Agatha slowly nodded as her mind was slowly griping with new facts that clashed against what she had been told to her all of her life. To pass this test she must believe in this new information. Her parents did have magic nor any other person in her family. No teacher knew anything about magic nor did the people in her village. In fact that was way she and her parents moved out of town and never had another child after her birth....But many generations back.... No put that thought out of her head she needed to concentrate on the problem and everything stopped because of her inattention.
"I'm sorry din. My mind wandered but I will finish this problem yet. I must for my own sake. though after we are done, I have a few questions for you." Agatha spoke as she went back to the problem in hand.
As the rust fell apart, Agatha began to think of how winter felt, a cold breeze began to blow. Snow slowly fell down as Agatha's emotions turned a sadness and her body began to turn slightly blue. As she began to feel the cold, a frosty feel came in with the breeze. She became so cold that she was turning to a darker blue and she began to cry. The breeze picked up her tears and whipped them away into the air where they turned into snowflakes which fell about. After what seemed like forever to Agatha because she had never been this cold before and it was getting colder by the second. As Agatha became colder, she turned even bluer and soon after that an ice formed around her body causing her to look like a brilliant blue ice sculpture of a sad lass.
This lasted for maybe ten minutes before slowly the snow melted away as the world began to split further into a spiral. As the spiral grew, the air became warmer and warmer. The snow melted and the ground turned brown once more in patches. As Agatha thought about how the winter snow melted away, the ice slowly melted as well. The warmth from from her body melted off of her revealing her cold body. Tiny crocus began to peek out of the snow being one of the first flowers of spring. Agatha moved her body into a stretch as if she had a good night's sleep.
She looks around to see if she had passed yet or not.
Mr. Man rolled his eyes, reluctant to appease the boy. He calmly reviewed the exam in his head, and then pulled out another small stone from his pocket. The fourth kind he had used so far. This stone was yellow, with a red glowing circle drawn on it. He turned it over in his hand, before setting it on the boy's knee. "Crush it in your hand. It's not difficult. While you do, imagine the item you've lost." He said gruffly, though he didn't seem upset at the loss of the stone.
"It should return the item," He added when he noticed the boy hesitating. "By the way, I should note that I reviewed your wounds, however I have no idea the true extent of them. Regardless I can heal them if you feel they are dire. If not, please refrain."
If Apollo did attempt to crush the stone, he would find it instantly fall apart like sand in his hand, then glow with magic intensity as it burned away. Once the last of the stone had burned away, the sword would be retrieved, appearing in his hand to replace the stone.
Apollo nodded as he put his sketchbook away. He reached for the rock and looked at it. It sure was emanating strong magical energy. Amazingly strong. He held it in his hand for a few seconds, when he heard Mr. Man's question. This time he answered without the sketchbook.
"No thanks. Bringing the sword here should cure the internal/spiritual damage."
Apollo began to concentrate on the sword. Even if he had only seen the sword once, the image of it had been imprinted into his mind. Apollo then called the sword, and once he did, he crushed the rock, making it fall apart into sand like particles. Afterwards it began to glow with an extreme intensity, and with a flash, Ascalon appeared radiating a holy light.
Apollo let out a sigh of relief as he jumped up to his feet and began to stretch, he was back to normal. He then looked ar Mr.Man.
"Thank you Mr.Man... Now If I may ask a question? Is it possible to know if I passed the exam or not? Even though I'm pretty sure of the answer." He said with the utmost courtesy.
@Aisling "Good, good. You're almost finished," muttered Din, though audibly enough for Agatha to hear. As frost covered his forsaken world, Din himself began to ice over, his body slowly being enveloped by a thin sheet of ice. His movements became slower, more labored, until he altogether stopped moving. As the ice thawed over and gave way to spring, the frozen skin of the copper Man broke down, revealing a hint of gold underneath. Eventually, this spread throughout his entire body, and like a snake shedding its skin, Din's appearance took on a new form.
In place of the Copper Man, there stood a resplendent figure made of gold. Gone were the dagger-like fingers, replaced by thin, long silver hands. His face was gold and his eyes were cornflower sapphires. The large, sharp teeth had disappeared, leaving nothing in its wake.
The new born Din stood up, with none of the hollow sounds he had made before. Despite his transformation, however, he still had the same neutral scowl on his face. Still, he radiated a kind of happiness that was out of place for him.
"Congratulations on finishing your exam, Miss Pendragon."
Din walked towards Agatha, with a grace and confidence he didn't have before. With every step he took, the earth went wild. Small trees sprouted and grew were he tread, and bushes, flowers, berries and all sorts of plantation sprung at his sides.
"Now, you ought to prepare for your next exam," said Din, flicking his arm upwards. In response, behind Agatha, a door made of solid gold grew. It was intricately carved, with the sides of the door made to resemble trees, and the wide arc at the top shaped like a canopy of branches. The doors were made of a dark colored wood, and the door knobs fashioned from diamond. "You'll be dueling one of your peers who has also finished his exam. I hope you're ready. Also, now would be the time to ask your questions."
Kieran sunk down to his knees and leaned back. his head was still level with the fairy but he wasn't as close anymore. "hmm, arcane word, the only word that sticks out to me now is what you called yourself, Fo" He silently hoped he hadn't put the fairy off to much with his last gesture, he did somewhat hope they could be friends, if only in parting.
"if that is not it would a trade work: My real name for the word that gets me through this door?"
Fo shook her head. "Nope, no trade-offs. There is only one way to get me to open this door, and that's by saying the magic word. You shouldn't be so quick to surrender what's yours, by the way. What if I was a malevolent spirit that hijacked the entrance exams? Then you'd be in real trouble," she said, a playful smirk on her face. A moment later, she added: "That was a joke by the way. It's practically impossible for anyone to hijack these exams, so don't worry."
The small fairy stood up from the doorknob, crossing her arms and looking pointedly at Kieran. "In any case, you ought to hurry. I've received word that over half of the examinees are finished now. Only you and a handful of other people are left."
Mr. Man hesitated, before letting out a uncharacteristic chuckle. The boy really didn't understand. "The exam isn't pass or fail. Of course you passed. You're alive. How well you did is a different matter altogether." He explained after having a fair chuckle. Man then went over to the desk, and opened the folder. Out he slipped two papers. One being a class schedule, and the other being his dorm number. The class schedule read as such:
Apollo Ranking: undecided First period: Alchemy Second period: Free Third period: Artifacts Fourth period: Elements Class Fifth period: Combat Training Sixth period: Free Seventh period: Magic Theory Eighth period: Sealing
The other sheet of paper, simply said "Dorm room: A7" with a small reminder on the bottom that going to the girls dormitory was strictly forbidden. "The punishment may or may not be death." Man hinted with little humor.
Apollo nodded, half frowning that his ranking had not been decided yet. He grabbed his class schedule, quickly reading it. He had some decent classes, yet he wondered why he got stuck with Alchemy. Maybe there was something that he did not know that was currently going on in his body.
"To be honest, I don't care about the girl's dormitory. I could care less. I'm gussing we get our Ranks after everyone is done. Man I sure now ai failed that exam. But that's good, it lets me train more now."
Apollo smiled as he looked at Mr.Man. He then got an Idea.
"Say Mr.Man, do I have to go against anyone anymore, because if I dont, may we have a spar of somekind. Something like chess?"
"Thank you, din. You look very nice. The first question is are all the tests done the same way or are there other ways of taking tests? I prefer not to fight since I am a pacifist. But I will defend myself if need be. Second is, can magical powers or whatever they are called here skip generations and if so how many? I do know that I must change some of my thoughts about magic and am unsure exactly what to think now. Thirdly, will I ever see you again?" Agatha asked rather quickly for she was quite nervous about fighting.
Mr. Man enjoyed the courtesy the boy was showing now, but the request caught him off guard. "A spar? Like. . . A game. I'm not good at a lot of games. We could play tic-tac-toe," Man thought, creating a pause in the conversation. He suddenly shrugged, and took out a folded, piece of paper from his back pocket. "I normally use this piece of paper to assign detentions, but we can use it for a. . . sparring match. A simple game of tic-tac-toe" Man explained slowly.
As he explained he drew a large pound symbol across the paper. "We will use simple rules. I will go first since I was challenged. If I lose, you go first for the next round. If I win, I go first for next round, and so on. If we tie, the person who went second in the tied round will go first in the next. We'll play a simple first to 3 wins." Man said with authority.
While he was speaking he made his first move. An x in the top right hand corner. With his demeanor, it seemed like the game wasn't going to be a trick. He seemed very genuine.
Kieran sat back and tipped his head down slightly. He replayed the memory of the exam from the start till now, looking trying to find any detail of the password. He grew more frantic as he did and brought a hand up to his head with a groan at the discomfort his racing mind was bringing. it had started going through memories from before the exam, going on to one from before he even got to the school as he let his mind drift. Eventually a thought came to him, a memory of a small human looking up at it's parent. the parent had asked for 'the magic word' in much the same manner that the Fairy had said it. He never understood the gesture or the word but well...
"please?" he spoke slowly, tipping his head back up to see the fairy's response.
Flare gave a smile. "Finally made your talk, huh?", he said. He breathed hardly. "I already made my choice... send him back to his world right now!", he said.
Apollo smiled. Everything was going according to plan, of course his face was expressionless, like if he had no ulterior motive at all. The rules were fairly simple. He nodded. His first move was a fairly typical move that was used to start the game. He grabbed the pen and drew a circle on the bottom left.
"Your move Mr.Man"
Apollo read Aura, and he already knew where this fame was going.
Man shook his head disappointingly. He had hoped Apollo had foresight. It was a simple game, but that was no excuse to think the first move didn't matter. Tic-tac-toe was the type of game that was decided by the first move, and it was so short that every move could be thought of in a matter of seconds. Man had imposed no time limit, so this kind of rush by Apollo was unorthodox, to say the least. Man simply placed his X in the top left hand corner.
@TheHangedMan The sheer fact that the silver titan was separated from the gold titan was reason enough for Aleksandra to be at least a bit happy, but it was also enough for her to curse as the kick sent her flying across the arena and hit the ground with a substantial force. "Damn that hurt like a boulder hag's bite" she said before standing up but stumbled a bit as the silver titan grew closer with each step. As it neared Aleksa adopted a stronger defensive stance than she had in the beginning of the fight, "God! at this rate I'm gonna be the lowest rank in the school if i can't even beat this test." she said with a slight smile. Fire again began to gather around her body as Aleksa prepared for the next attack but this time she made herself heavier by using her rock elemental element which was the only thing it could be used at this point. When the next attack came Aleksa attempted to counter it again and if it was successful would try to push it back though she didn't have much hope in this.
Arcadius sighed with relief as he was transported to the room with the other students that had completed their exams. He simply reclined in his chair, resting, and looking around the room. With a flick of his wrist he summoned his Grimorie and began reading and contemplating how well he had done in the exam. It was the first year they'd actually gave him a nigh purely physical exam, he figured they did it to change things up a bit for him. He honestly wished they hadn't.
And he also hoped that was the full final portion of the exam and there wasn't some 'hidden boss fight' at the end. He just couldn't manage to cast another spell without collapsing, even a basic spell such as Fire.
He hoped he did good again this year, although physical feats weren't exactly his prowess, so he had doubts.
Din gave a stiff nod. "Thank you," he replied succinctly, before he shook his head. "All tests are tailored made for the one taking them. In any case, you will have to prepare yourself for battle. Don't forget what you learned here: you must keep the spiral going, even if it means battle." The transformed Din paused and considered Agatha's other questions. "As for magic, in truth, I know little about it - magic is the breaker of providence, and the loophole around the laws of the world. I, who am part of nature cannot comprehend magic so well. You will have to wait for your lessons.
With a smirk, Din opened the door to the next step of Agatha's exam: "As for whether or not you can see me again; who knows? The Labyrinth is always open to you, but where you end up . . . well, it's a labyrinth for a reason."
Din gestured to the door, a stern expression on his 'face'. "Now go, Mr. Arcana's already finished his exam. The moment you arrive past those doors, prepare for your duel to begin."
Fo stared at him for a minute, before breaking into a big, bright grin. "Well well well, it has manners after all . . ." with a chuckle, the small fairy flew towards Kieran and patted his nose. "You may be an Eldritch in spirit, but keep in mind, your body is human. We know that you want to be free, but we advise that you take your time with that endeavor. Enjoy being human for a while."
Fo floated towards the door, placing a hand on both sides, and at once, the door glowed and thrust open. "Moreover, as a human, don't forget that you can ask for help. It comes with being the weak creatures you are. If force or trickery or power can do nothing, then maybe you should simply ask, and when the time comes that you will begin again to look for someone who can free you, remember this exam."
Fo floated to the side, leaving the path to the door open for Kieran. "Now go, your opponents been waiting for quite some time now," she said, before adding with a smile: "And for what it's worth, good luck out there."
In response to Agni's words, Cruz was immediately encrusted in a case made of sand, slowly being pertrified. Then, with utmost silence, the shell broke, and Cruz crumbled into dust.
He has been returned hence. Know that you have condemned that world to its fate - as it should be.
You and your friends are strangers here, yet, still you exist. If you are to remain here, live not as saviors from a different time, but as one who lives simply because he does.
This post is an extension of MagusDreams, and connects with all the other finished examinees.
And with those last words echoing in Agni's, the world around him twisted, and he found himself standing in a nice looking lounge, with a bar, table games, and several large screen televisions. Around him were other students that completed their exams. From a door behind the bar, a long haired brunette stepped out with a yawn. Said brunette had her hair tied in a tail, and was in a bartenders outfit.
"Oh, well, looks like some students are here already . . ." she said with a hint of surprise. "Well, welcome to the Examinee Lounge. You'll be here for awhile until you all finish. In the meantime, those big tellies over there will be displaying the duels between several students."
The Silver Titan threw it's leg towards Aleksandra with roar, kicking with rage induced strength. With Aleksandra strengthening herself, and her preparations to counter, the best she could do was halt its foot, at which point, it pounded its fist downwards in an attempt to squish her into a bloody pulp.
All the while the Golden Titan looked on, unable to decide what to do. On one hand, it knew that Aleksandra had interfered with their duel, on the other hand, they had yet to resume combat - combat that it was getting impatient for.
