It had been three days, Havish had spent three whole days with these Magisters, and the body of the knight he had looked up to. This was utter madness, they keep telling him that he was a magister as well, they kept referring to his power as the Armadillo cloak, but he had never done anything, no magic, no nothing, he had seen magisters spew flame from their hands and teleport from rooftop to rooftop, and now he was expected to do something like that, he couldn't even tussle with the guys in town let alone monsters like the snake that killed the knight.

"Ummm, how much further is it?"

Havish said meekly to the woman holding the reins of the wagon. She looked at him and smiled, she was a nice lady as far as he had seen, her and her partner and young man, not much older than Havish himself, they had been very pleasant on the trip, they had even tried to help Havish coax out his power but to no avail. The woman said nothing she just pointed ahead of them and in the distance you could see the towers of the Grand Magisterium in the distance, a marvel to be sure, and Havish was starting to feel excited.

"The Grand Magisterium, the heart of magic in this world, if you have the aptitude you will learn more than you could ever dream."

The woman spoke sweetly before looking back at Havish who at the mention of aptitude seemed to have shrank down into himself, she could tell his confidence was still lacking, he had a power, it was just a shy one.



As the Wagon passed through the gates Havish gawked at the sights of the campus, there were two mages in a battle just two the side, one was throwing entire boulders while the other seemed to melt them away as they touch his hands, others seemed to just be hanging out and having something to eat. All around him he noticed large stone figures, the shape of men, though covered in blue lines, they seemed to be carrying out the mundane tasks of the area, cleaning, cooking, repairing fields, he had never seen golems like that before, he had only ever heard of them from stories.

The young man turned to Havish, "Hey pal, look, we are going to drop you at the dorms, all you got to do is go in, find a door that has a blank nameplate and go in, once you do, you are enrolled, easy, you get a shared space with two others so be prepared." And the man clapped Havish on the shoulder, then the other, and with ease picked him up as though he were an infant, the man didn't even stand. Havish was placed on the ground, "Don't worry, you will be fine, just... don't pick a fight or anything. Oh and I will have something sent to you in a day or two, take care." And the cart started to move again, leaving Havish alone in front of the dorm building.

Adezain laid in the grass on one of the well kept fields, usually held for larger scale sparring between teams. He sighed heavily, closing his eyes hard, then opening them again to the blue sky, dotted with white clouds. It was a beautiful day and he couldn't help but feel a little good at that thought. He took a deep breath and then sat up. In the training fields, there were only a few students around practicing or sparring. Around this time of day most of the students were studying, burying their faces in books, or socializing in the lounges or restaurants that dotted the campus. He looked to the left, at the simple wood and straw scarecrow target, surrounded by swords stuck into the ground, their hilts and crossguards slagged and melted. Even if the training fields were populated, many of the students would give him a fair amount of space.

He adjusted himself and faced the target, crossing his legs and thinking. His mentor, the Magister who accompanied him to the Magisterium, explained that lightning was an uncommon and unpredictable magic. The few masters of lightning who did exist were often out of extended missions away from the academy, like free spirits, they only rarely returned home. Despite that, his mentor imparted as much knowledge as he could. Lightning was an element with a mind of its own. A fire magic user could throw a fireball straight at a target, and predictably the fireball would fly straight and hit the target assuming the users aim was true. But a lightning users lightning bolt would stray from its intended target and hit objects between the user and the target instead. Though the Magisters who had mastered lightning must have learned how to command the wild force of nature that is lightning, they were a secretive bunch, usually not recording their research and experiences in the Magisteriums vast libraries. Instead they often placed their writings in their own outposts, in well hidden and trapped caves, hiding their esoteric knowledge away from the rest of the community. For a reason neither Adezain or his mentor knew. Perhaps it was because during their training, they were always seen as the outsider due to the danger of their magic? Perhaps they felt that after mastering their art, the rest of the Magisters did not deserve the knowledge. Whatever the reason, Adezain and all of the novice lightning magic users of the present and future were alone. Perhaps the lightning masters felt that the novices needed to learn things on their own. Adezain thought finally.

Adezain had been here for only two days and both days he had been hard at work practicing his magic. With these metal obstacles, he could only throw lightning a few meters accurately. Without, he could do a few more. But he didn't know how to extend his range, and he didn't know how to command his magic to ignore the swords. He tapped his chin a few times, then got up to his feet. He took a martial stance. His mentor was a Magister that channeled his magic through martial technique, though Adezain's mentor explained that there were multiple ways to cast magic, such as incantation, script, rope knots, Adezain felt most comfortable with his mentors technique. Through martial arts. Adezain did a few hops, brought his fists up into a guard, he felt that same thrill from when he first used magic. That same pump of adrenaline, like his body knew, and reacted. It scared him, but he knew this was what he was now. He saw a faint spark of electricity jump from his left fist to his right, then he shot out a right jab. A flash of light, a loud snap... and a sword's hilt to the left of the target glowed with heat. Another miss. Adezain grimaced and fell out of his stance. His jab was slower than his mentors, and he couldn't even hit a target properly. Baby steps. He contemplated switching styles to incantation, plus he wouldn't have to move around so much. He smiled a little at it, his mentor used martial arts, so he would too. He wondered if any of the Magisters used a combination, maybe they could cast two spells at once? An incantation at the same time as going through the movements of a physical casting. Then maybe having those pre-prepared rope knots in an emergency. But the time needed to master one method of magic channeling was great, two was... it was too much for Adezain, at his level of skill. But he tucked the thought away, intending to ask his mentor about it later.

He glanced at the sun, it was just about mid-day, and more students would come to the training fields to practice their magic after lunch. He gathered the ruined swords, tucking them under one arm, then picked up the target and hefted it over his shoulder. It was surprisingly light, being made of straw, cloth, and two pieces of wood. The young lightning mage then began to walk back to his dorm. He knew that a lot of students prioritized learning transportation magic, or asked other students for help traveling the vast campus. Not Adezain. He didn't know how he would travel with his magic, other than the technique described in the Mythos of Vymos. Plus casting magic through physical movement required great stamina, and any exercise that would help him cast his magic for longer periods of time was welcome.

As he approached the dormitory section of the campus he noticed someone standing in front of the large doors of his building. Adezain rose an eyebrow at the grey haired man as he approached. He placed the target against the wall, knowing that a student coming out from his dorm would likely pick it up as they were going to the training grounds, then he looked the newcomer over. "New?" Adezain asked, continuing before the newcomer could reply, "Me too, just got here a few days ago. Say, you eat yet? It's just about lunch and I know a good hole-in-the-wall place. I need some time away from practice anyways." Adezain hefted the handful of swords he carried for emphasis then glanced over to the doors, "Right! Should probably get you a room first."

Drake looked at the entrance to the academy before he took a deep breath and began to walk through the threshold into his new life. He stopped and looked back at the Magisters who brought him here. They were walking back the way they had just come. Drake sighed as he remembered the journey here: the two Magisters seemed to be a little annoyed with escorting him here because every time he tried to spark up a conversation with them. They’d simply ignore him and when he tried to ask a question about where they were going. One would simply reply with, “All will be revealed in due time.” Or “All your questions will be answered very soon.”

“Guess they just wanted to bring me here so they could go home,” Drake assumed before he let out a sigh and looked at the map one of the Magisters had given him. It had one simple instruction on it. Go to the dormitory and nowhere else. He examined the map before he began to head towards the dormitory. This was it, his new life at this academy. How a simple blacksmiths son could wind up here was beyond him. He looked around at all the buildings that he passed and was stunned at their architecture. It’s like something out of a fairy tale Drake thought before he spotted the dorms. He also spotted two people in front of them. He stopped and let out another sigh.

“Let’s hope these two are more talkative them the two people that brought me here,” Drake said to himself before he proceeded towards the dorms and the two in front of them. As he got closer he waved and said, “Good morning.” Please don’t be like the two that brought me here. Drake hoped in his mind.

Sasa had been travelling for 6 months from Qarasak, her hometown and a region in the far south west. She had travelled on her roan horse, Kohana and both she and her horse were exhausted. She rode up and could see a bridge leading to one of the most amazing buildings she had seen on her long journey. She had seen many varying buildings on her journey, all of them were different to what she had seen in her homeland, but this truly was a marvel to behold.
"Wow! Look at it, Kohana," she said as she patted the side of her horse's head,
"We made it," she sighed, looking absolutely exhausted. She turned to the Magister responsible for bringing her and guiding her through the lands and admitted,
"Thank you, Carazan. We would never have made it without you." Sasa reached into one of her saddlebags and grabbed a leather flask and had a quick sip of water, offering it to her travelling companion.
"No thanks, young Sasa. We'd better get you in to the campus. They've been expecting us for a long time now," Carazan answered as she slowly made her way in front of Sasa to guide the young girl through the Magisterium. Sasa began to follow her over the bridge to enter the Magisterium campus. They slowly made their way through the campus and over to the stables. The stables were a simple straw-thatched building with room for dozens of horses and a wide open field, encircled with a low wooden barrier.
"Your horse can rest here for a while, Sasa, but you'll need to ask permission for him to stay," Carazan said to the girl as she dismounted her fine black horse, Freya. Somewhat disheartened, Sasa dismounted Kohana and hugged his head as a way of saying goodbye. After all, they had just spent 6 months together, every day and night.
"You stay here and rest, Kohana. I'll be back to see you later. Please behave for mama," she said as she dragged herself away from the stables. Carazan had led Freya into the stables and left her to roam freely in the field.
"Look after Kohana for me, Freya. He's tired and most likely nervous to be somewhere he's not used to," she called to her horse. The pair of young women made their way back through campus, reminiscing about there long journey through the lands. They arrived at the dorms and Carazan said,
"Sasa, see those three boys just up ahead in front of the big wooden doors, well those are the dorms. That's where you'll be sleeping and probably studying too. You could go over and talk to those boys if you want, I believe that they're new as well. Just go through the door and pick a room. Trust me, you'll love your room. I've got to report to my master so I'll see you around." she hugged the young girl and waved as she left, feeling that she had a friend in the campus that she could always talk to. Sasa nervously approached the three boys, saying,
"Hello, I'm Sasa. These are the dorms right?"

Havish stood still looking up at the doorway when the somewhat noisy thump woke him from the thought, a young man setting down what looked to be a slightly singed scarecrow and multiple slightly deformed swords, what in the nine hells had this man been doing, was he one of the fire mages, was he able to turn into a dragon? Havish stood dumbfounded and speechless as the man approached him and began to talk. The man only had to say one word, "New?", and Havish started to raise his hands in defence, there was no telling what the guy intended, he could be trying to kill him day one just to practice, he didn't know, but then he just kept talking, he even seemed friendly. "Should probably get you a room first." The man must have already gone through whatever he needed to to be enrolled.

"I...I am...Supposed to enroll. Uh, the doors do it....Right?"

Havish could hardly get the words out, the people around here were terrifying, none of this even made any sense, every time on the journey here, his guardians had tried to get him to use magic but he had been unable every time, he was convinced that he had no power and was now in the most dangerous place on the planet with no hope. The day could only get worse, more people were showing up and talking to him, another man, "Good Morning." what was even going on, they all seemed so convivial, nonthreatening, not like the people back home, could he even trust them, did he even have a choice.

"He...hello, good morning." Havish looked to the man who seemed to have been here a bit already, "Can you..."

Another person, a girl this time approached them, "These are the dorms right?", How many people had sigils all at once, was that normal? Havish was still pretty uncertain about whether or not these people were even safe to be around, so he figured at this point the best thing to do was to try and slink away quietly before these mages started some kind of arcane melee and he gets killed in the crossfire, so as the girl tries to introduce herself Havish tries to stealthily press his way to the dormitory so that he can get a room and hide.

@EldarionI@Rex@Skyrte

Adezain looked to the newcomer for a response, who only barely was just able to reply, quietly, unsure. He knew this from one of his youngest siblings, a lack of confidence and certainty in a new place... and boy was this a new place.
"I...I am...Supposed to enroll. Uh, the doors do it....Right?" He asked.
Adezain mentally nodded, he understood his uncertainty, even he was nervous when he first arrived. He spent a quarter of the first day just wandering and trying to figure out what to do. Adezain hoped that he could smooth over the transition to this new life with this newcomer, and hopefully they didn't have to spend a quarter of the whole day looking around and figuring things out. Adezain put a warm smile on and replied.

"Yeah. They seem to do it magically, I'm not sure how exactly..." Adezain trailed off as he saw another person walking towards them, who greeted them with a simple good morning. Adezain greeted him back and the first newcomer did as well, and very shortly after the second newcomer came a third arrived, introducing herself as Sasa and asking if this was the dormitory. Adezain cleared his throat to get their attention, then said, "Yep!" cheerfully. "Sasa, you're new right?" he asked her, he wasn't sure if the second newcomer was new or not. Occasionally older students would walk up to him and greet him. Right, names. "I go by Adezain." He introduced himself, doing a slight bow being careful not to drop the various swords he had under one of his arms. "Come on into the dorms, we'll talk along the way." He looked around for the first newcomer, when he spotted him already pushing the doors open, "This guy has the right idea. Head on in, take a right and go up the staircase to the second floor. First floor is basically already full. Lead the way." he said to the first newcomer, who never introduced himself.

As he walked up to the doors, Adezain turned to Sasa and the second newcomer, "I took dorm 202, close to the staircase, windows have a pretty decent view. Good sunlight, that sort of stuff." he began, "weirdest thing, when I stepped into the commons, and then to a bedroom I heard quite a bit of shuffling in there. I waited until it stopped, just to be sure. When I opened the door, I found the bedroom to be designed strangely in the fashion of my hometown." he blinked a few times, pausing, "They can't possibly have known which dorm, much less which bedroom I would have chosen. Must be magic of some kind." He concluded, "Though I wonder what kind."
He took a good look at the other two after his open ended thought, maybe they were more knowledgeable about magic than he, since they were clearly from lands far away from his. They dressed in strange fashion and had facial features not native to his land. Adezain himself wore what his common people wore, and it wasn't very far off from the common fashion around the Magisterium. A simple, loose fitting white shirt, a brown vest to wipe your hands on after they got dirty, pants and boots.