[IC] Onset of a True World: Prologue

[chukklehed]

Up in his tower, overlooking the land of Shae, Lawrence Caldwell placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, as one would put a hand on the shoulder of an old friend. "The time is coming," He said, and the runes on the stone sword glowed red as it replied.

"The storm is on it's way. Are you certain you should be here, instead of facing it as we once did?"

Lawrence shook his head sadly. "My time has come and gone. Now my purpose is to cultivate the next generation, so that they may stand against the darkness in my place." He turned from the window and sat at his desk, leaning the sword against it. "The students should be arriving soon. I must prepare for them."

---

Britnia landed at the entrance, looking up at the giant gates in awe. She psyched herself up and stepped over the threshold, almost taking flight again when the guard addressed her.

"Name miss?" He asked in a polite but somewhat bored voice. "Britnia," She answered, calming down, and the guard nodded, not checking any kind of list before waving her in. "You're expected this year. Head on in, the headmaster will be in shortly." A bit surprised at the ease of entry, she fingered the Wind charm on her bracelet. "Thank you mother," She whispered as she moved inside, winding up in a grand dining hall that already had people in it.

[Aisling]

Lady Rosewoode walked into the dining room to see if Lawrence had beaten her once again but she did not see him. Her owl Archimedes was perching on top of the staff. She looked around the room full of new students and old ones. She went to her usual corner to wait for Lawrence.

"I want you to behave yourself, Archimedes. So much going on and I am uneasy about many things. Some that I do not know or even why....."

Archimedes just ruffled up his feathers and began to preen his already clean feathers.

[makarov]

Arden walked up to the guard and smiled a big smile, "pretty sure I am expected...Arden Yalken..." The guard checked, nodded and waved him in, after that Arden walked into this dinig hall and pulled out his little pouch of mint leaves and put one in his mouth before starting to walk. He walked past an obvious teacher in a corner and smiled at her, "good morning mam..." then he kept going till he found a seat that looked comfortable enough and sat down.

[Jivusa]

Jonas looked up at the large academy as he walked across the drawbridge that led to the institution. It was very different from the temple monastery he'd lived in for so many years. He wondered about the knowledge within the stone walls of this institute. Jonas could only guess at it. Soon, he would know it. Hopefully, rather than surely, but most likely nonetheless. Jonas walked forwards, cloak and robes fluttering in the wind that carried whispers of nature and promises of life. He would hold his book to his chest and approach the guard. When asked for his name, he replied with his name. "Jonas Eldrin." He would then be let in. A smile crossed his elven face.

Jonas arrived in a grand dining hall, already having people in it, both students and teachers alike. A generation of knowing, ready to give their knowledge to the new generation that climb under their wise wings. Jonas was teeming with eagerness, hardly able to wait until he could learn from the teachers here. Though, it did not appear that way on the outside. To another, Jonas would appear collected and focused, which he was. Jonas wasn't as expressive with his body as others were; he preferred communication with with words. Knowledge is gained that way much more efficiently.

[chukklehed]

Lawrence stood up, looking out the window. "I suppose it's time for me to head down," he said, lifting the stone sword and sliding it into the scabbard on his back. He stood silently for a moment, then vanished, leaving not even a sound behind.

He reappeared just out of sight in a small room at the front of the Grand Hall, walking out calmly. Taking his place behind a long table at the front, he waited for everyone to fall silent before speaking, which didn't take long.

"Welcome," He started, his voice booming across the expansive room, "To Caldwell's Academy. I am Headmaster Caldwell. For some of you this is welcome back, for many it is a first greeting. Regardless, you are all here for one reason. Knowledge." His eyes swept the room and seemed to focus on everybody.

"Some of you seek knowledge for purely academic reasons, as future scholars and teachers yourselves. Some seek knowledge so as to arm yourself in battle, gaining victory through cunning and strategy, rather than brute force. Still more of you seek knowledge to help others, bettering the world through both the arcane and the mundane, wishing to become healers and leaders. None of these paths is wrong by itself, and the knowledge here is free to all, but I warn you that there is a difference between teaching and propaganda, victory and domination, leadership and tyranny. Those of you who follow the path this school lays out for you so swear that you use this knowledge as a force for good, not for oppression. In this world, there is no weapon more dangerous in the wrong hands than knowledge." He waited for his warning to sink in, then continued.

"Now, with such serious matters out of the way, I would like to invite you to mingle, socialize. The people around you now will be your companions for the next year. The teachers will come later to show you around." With these last words he sat down in the chair behind him, taking off his scabbard as he did so and leaning it against the arm rest. He watched the room with an unreadable expression on his face, but his relaxed manner radiated a certain warmth.

---

Britnia glanced around the room as the headmaster finished his speech. There were a lot of people in the room, all starting to talk again, and she spotted a lone elf. She decided that talking to an elf would be a good first step before she moved directly to humans, so she started moving through the crowd, hovering just above the floor to compensate for her small size. Finally coming up behind him, she hesitated, then landed and opened her mouth to speak.

"Um, hello. My name's Britnia."

[Aisling]

Lady Rosewoode glided over to where Lawrence was sitting. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before speaking in a low voice.
"Salutations, my dearest. What think you of the new students? What you do you see in them?"

She sat down in a chair next to Lawrence to watch the students mingle. She rarely spoke to many of the students outside of class because of her own reasons. Reasons that she refuses to even think of let alone speak much of.

[Jivusa]

Jonas looked behind him as a small voice addressed herself as Britnia. Finding the source of the voice, Jonas was intrigued by the sight of a Feytouched. "Hello, Britnia. My name is Jonas Eldrin. It's a pleasure to meet you," he would say. He would then go on and continue speaking. "You're a Feytouched human, is that correct? Hmph. Fascinating. If my knowledge is correct, the Feytouched are humans or elves that are given traits of the Feyfolk after birth. It's in the Feyfolken's nature to be kind and generous, but there is two sides to every coin, is there not? Feyfolken are also known to be tricksters to the unwary. More times than not, though, Feyfolken are kind and generous. An interesting race of creatures."

Jonas would then smile and correct himself. "My apologies, I ramble a lot. One of my nagging tendencies, I guess. If I see something remotely interesting, I just have to comment on it and share knowledge. And the comments lead to more comments, and if I don't stop myself, it becomes something of a novel sight. Anyways, why did you come here, to Caldwell's Academy?," he said, and then asked. Jonas would sit in a seat and gesture for Britnia to recline as she spoke as well.

[chukklehed]

Britnia blanched when the elf started ticking off what seemed like random facts about her people, barely taking time for a breath, let alone a response. She started hovering a few inches off the ground unconciously, glancing around nervously.

"I-I came to meet new people and learn magic," She said, not taking the offered seat. "M-maybe I should go introduce myself to the other's?" She started to float backwards, back towards the main group.

---

Lawrance smiled warmly at Rosewoode as he put a hand over hers, glancing up briefly before looking back over the room.

"I have high hopes for this group," He said, keeping his hand over her's as she sat down next to him. "They have much potential." He tightened his hold on her hand briefly before returning it to the table in front of him, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I wonder if it will be enough?"

[Jivusa]

Jonas nodded and sighed a little, saying, "Yes, that would be very good. Must get to know the people you will be sharing knowledge with." The elf boy would then turn his gaze away from the Feytouched Britnia, thinking to himself. In his cognition, he cursed himself over and over. Jonas had frightened the girl, and made her run off. It was different here than the temple monastery, where the members of the order would welcome such conversation with open embrace. Would he be forced to lessen the intelligent speech when he addressed the people here? Jonas just might have to.

Jonas set his head into his hand and would continue thinking to himself. And the more he thought, the more he spun himself into a spiral of melancholy. A trait of an erudite is to get so deep into thought that he becomes detached from the physical world, wandering inside of his own mind. Jonas was not an exception to this. The most difficult part is to judge the time while you're out. It could take a single second to process innumerable thoughts, or innumerable seconds to process a single thought. Jonas just sat there, resting his head on his arm in a thinking position, doing nothing else but thinking. He even forgot to blink or breathe a few times.

[Aisling]

Lady Rosewoode smiled at Lawrence with a special warm smile.
"Que Sera, Sera, my dearest one. Nothing is a sure thing. Not even a Seer can see all for their is too many paths that others might take. Too many possibilities in life when one deals with others. I have some seer ability from Grandfather but it is the last second type of thing so I will not use it.
The students will do what they. I just do not want the blood shed that will come to us. I am so afraid for some reason but I dare not look into the bowl. Perhaps ....... No, I won't even allow the thought even come through. " she spoke in every low voice that she used for Lawrence only.
She sat up straight even though she felt a bit weary again. World weary is a tiresome thing indeed.