Admission
Navira
I’ve never truly put too much thought into what it would feel like to stand here. In this very spot, looking out at an academy that was built off of creating structural, sound Heirs and World Leaders. Not once did I ever fit into those criterias, and yet those obsidian stoned arches gleam back at me as if to prove me wrong.
“Gods, it’s kind of cool out here isn’t it?” The voice has me turning to my side and spotting a pair of vibrant crimson eyes staring back at me. The same pair I’ve grown so fond of in the past ten years. Julien’s eyebrow ticks up, almost hitting his stark white hair as he waits for my answer. Narrowing my eyes, I lean towards him.
“If I recall, you can’t feel the temperature.” The back of my hand goes to his icy skin along his forearm and a grin sprawls onto his features. Two pointy white teeth poke out of the corners of his lips. He wouldn’t even be able to tell if it were a blizzard swarming around the entire campus, let alone a ‘chill’. His vampiric lineage makes sure of that, keeping what blood he does have at a cooler, much slower state. He lifts his hands up.
“Sue a guy for trying to make conversation, I see.” His eyes linger on me before he rolls them to high heavens and faces forward, that small smile still playing along his lips. His attitude, no matter how old we get, will always be the same at least. Even if our surroundings are going to be so much more different these next four years. My gaze lurks onto the academy in front of me and I momentarily hold my breath.
It’s stunning. Truly. Out of the chaotic tangles of vines crawling up the gray brick, three
spiraled towers that seemed to pierce the clouds with their ascending points stand tall. I have no clue what lurks behind those walls, nor do I have the magical abilities to even consider being able to handle it but the slim piece of paper in my left hand says otherwise. I glance down at my acceptance letter once more, and when I look back up, I find crimson eyes holding my gaze. They glance down at my hand before meeting my stare.
“Are you nervous?” A breath escapes me at Julien’s question and I nod. I know he isn’t, he’s been prepping for this his entire life and as a son of the Vampire Councilman he’s had a spot here since he was welcomed into this world. Not that that would even matter because frankly, the guy would go through hell and high waters to be let through those gates either way. No matter his parent’s status. He tucks a cool hand against my side and pulls me into a small hug.
“Come on now, get out of those newbie jitters and get excited. You’ve made it into Aetherium Academy, Nav!” I shake out my hands at his words. He’s right, I made it into this academy through hard work and dedication, nothing less. I should carry myself as such. There were only about forty other students standing on the campus lawn around us, but the grounds in front of the academy continued to grow with people over the next few minutes. I tuck myself closer to Julien, looking around at the faces that I’d be with for the next few years. There were the obvious vampires with their crimson red eyes and their perfectly chiseled features, and some witches even danced along the grass. Their hair moved with them, like they are dancing in sync to music unheard to the rest of us. Then you had the shifters. They were the easiest to spot, all huddled into a group and talking amongst themselves. Their builds were the equivalent to an extremely dedicated athlete but the easy going smiles and laughter spouting from them gave off the impression that they’d probably be the easiest to get along with.
“You see that guy over there with the golden bracelets?” Julien juts his chin towards some of the shifters and my eyes land on the person he’s asking about within seconds. He wasn’t too hard to spot, wearing bracelets that seemed to embed into the skin of his wrist, and instead of him being in a circle, everyone circled him. Brown chestnut locks that curled on top of his head bounced a bit when he leaned his head back slightly to roar a laugh.
“Wait, is that...”
“Grey Novali.” He says and my eyes widen slightly. I don’t know much about what’s happening around the world, but I know some things. Grey Novali happens to be one of those things. Son of the Earth, Charmer of the South, Prince of Koltera, I’ve heard such names and more come about whenever Grey has been mentioned. As of right now, he’s leading the world’s highest percentile of Earth Elemental Magic, or… At least that’s what I’ve read.
“And if you turn to your left just slightly…,” Julien grasps my chin a bit and turns my attention towards a girl with flaming red hair. Almost as if she can feel my gaze, her eyes flick towards me and I’m taken back by how gray they are. Not dull, monotoned in any shape or form, no. They were piercing and vibrant. Like a glowing orb surrounding her pupil.
“Sorena Latis.” I mutter. I knew I’d see heirs here. Gods, it’s common sense but I’ve only seen them on the news. Seeing them in the flesh seems…wrong, and I was certain it would take away their enrapturing aura. If anything though, it made them seem more untouchable. Looking at them now, I can practically feel the difference in the air we breathe. Sorena lowers her head a bit, and it hits me that I have yet to look away so I do so quickly.
“She’s terrifying.”I mutter. Julien laughs at my words.
“Inside and out.” He answers back and I blink, forgetting for a second that he knows these people. Attending balls, banquets, dinners side by side with heirs to actual thrones. I glance around the grounds to see if I see anyone else I’ve noticed on Mrs Saige’s TV but come up empty. I know there are two more, and since Grey is the descendant for the Earth throne, Sorena for the Air throne, that leaves Fire and Water. Those two weren’t really that televised if I recall correctly so I could have skimmed over them and just not noticed.
The doors to the academy open and four people that look to be around our age step out. Students, if their uniforms give anything away with their golden school logo gleaming on their shirts with their movement. There is one that is falling ahead of the rest and when they all gather up onto a small podium near the front of the school, he steps forward.
“Welcome, freshies, to Aetherium Academy!” His voice earns shouts and a few whistles to erupt around us. “Alright, I’m sure you all don’t want to stand out here all day so let’s get this going. My name is Vin and I’m a fourth year here, and these individuals are Lidia, Gunner, and West.” Vin points to the people behind him from left to right, and then turns back to us. “We will be splitting you up into groups of ten to twelve since this year seems to have a larger number than what we are used to.” Larger? I glance around once again and see maybe fourty-five students, not including myself. This is a large selection? I’d hate to see a small one… He went to work splitting us up into groups and assigning us with one of them. Julien got selected close to first, going to Vin and after what felt like forever, or possibly was forever, he pointed at me and assigned me right along with him. All the prying eyes of the ones already chosen left chills in their wakes as I walked to my spot.
After everyone is split up into four groups, Vin clears his throat in front of all of us. Tucks his hands behind his back before speaking again.
“Again, I’m Vin, but we already covered that moments ago so I want to know each of you.” His blue eyes scan over all of us before landing on the person on the farthest side of the group. “Let’s start with you. Name and lineage.” My stomach drops at his question but the guy doesn’t stutter, he just rattles off his information before Vin moves to the next person. Julien leans closer to me, almost as if he can feel the anxiousness pouting into my veins right now.
“Don’t stress about it. Just answer and he will move on, it’ll be okay.” He mutters to me as the second person says theirs to him too. The next person goes and the roaring of my pulse in my ears settles down just enough for me to hear their answer.
“Valoria Bellsing of the -,”
“Bellsing Alchems…” Vin finishes for her and his astonishment has me leaning forward to get a glimpse of the girl. Long dark hair, eyes and skin tone matching a deep chestnut coloration that stretches across her. Small golden assets line her locks and a speck of golden powder lines the corners of her eyes, making the russet brown of her irises seem to look so much more potent. She’s got to be from the Koltera Kingdom, the same gold marking her as it does Grey Novali. Being from Koltera myself, I’ve seen those golden assets countless times, but only on the higher bloodlines that live in the kingdom. I, for one, don’t fit in that category, hence my bare arms. Julien’s parents sport them as well, Julien just outright refuses to be a part of that stigma. His words, not mine.
“You’re the first child of Alchemists to walk these halls. Take that with pride.” Vin announces, something kin to admiration flashes in his eyes, dragging his gaze from her before going to the next person in line. I take that time to breathe for a moment, repeating my name a thousand times as if it’s that hard to remember, but the fear of saying a name that means nothing here engulfs every ounce of my being. Vin finally makes it to Julien and my heart is in my throat.
“Name and lineage.”
“Julien Arbon of the Arbon lineage.” Julien says and Vin steps back slightly, looking at Julien with a tilted head.
“As in Vanor Arbon? Very nice.” Vin says and Julien tenses slightly, but only enough for me to notice. Vin seems oblivious.
“As in Julien Arbon.” Julien announces and Vin’s eyes narrow for a split second before he nods slowly.
“Making a name for yourself instead of living under someone else’s. I can respect that.” Vin says before the dreaded time comes and his eyes land on mine. Everything seems to quiet down to nothing as he looks at me expectantly.
“Navira Saige.” I say. Vin lifts an eyebrow and dips his gaze down before shooting around to others in line. He doesn’t have to say it, I already know he’s trying to piece together my last name with anything of significance but he comes up empty. Shocker, there. A student in line, Garrett Hawthorn, I think his name was, squeezes out a laugh before slapping a hand over his mouth. Vin turns, faces the sound almost immediately.
“Am I missing something here?” He asks Garrett and Garrett shakes his head. “So what was funny? Explain to your peers, Garrett.” My heart played against my chest as I waited for his next words, whatever they may be. The entire group had now leaned forward, glimpsing at me for a moment before Julien would move his body slightly to where their view was almost blocked.
“It’s just that…Well, it’s nothing truly funny but-,”
“Spit it out.” Vin grumbled. Garrett’s eyes widened a bit before clearing his throat. His dark brown hair falls over his forehead when he begins to speak again.
“Saige is the last name of the lady who owns the orphanage in Mistpeek, and as far as I know she has no children which means…” He cuts off and I find all the eyes on me once again despite Julien’s best efforts. I stare straight ahead, not daring a glance around to anyone as Vin comes and stands right back in front of me. For a split second I want to drop my head, hide from all the prying gazes but I force myself to do the opposite. I lift my chin and look towards Vin. His features seem to soften for a moment, before hardening and turning back towards Garrett.
“I look forward to watching her hand you your ass this year, Hawthorn. And if she doesn’t,” Vin’s eyes cast towards Julien and a smirk slides onto his face, “I’m sure someone will.” He steps away from the line and moves to face us all at once. With that being done, I feel like I can finally breathe. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it surely didn’t go as well as I thought it could either.
“Now that we have the basics of just some of our classmates, let’s dive into the Academy itself, shall we?” Vin didn’t wait for a reply, turning his stout back towards us and moving away, not bothering to see if we were following, -we absolutely were-. What had been a line disappeared and we all gathered behind him as he rounded down onto the path in the center of the academy. The building I had been previously staring at with Julien was now in perfect view and I held in an audible gasp that was dying to escape.
“This is the Grand Spire. The entire campus runs off of this building alone, containing head administrative offices, general lecture halls, our library that holds all the best knowledge, and student common areas. If you ever feel lost, just follow any of these paths and it’ll bring you here.” He gestures to the stoned pathway beneath his feet and I look across them all. There are five in total, each spearing off into different directions of the campus. We take the one that leads left of the Grand Spire, and I mentally note a small squared section in the grass that had been painted blue. Okay, so this is definitely getting stashed into my brain as the blue path. It’s only a short walk, deeper into the academy grounds though seeing as the trees are now surrounding us from all angles.
“This is the Wanderer Woods, and it is open to all forgers and shifters whenever needed. And just over there, tucked away from the rest of the academy is the Atrium.” I shift my attention deeper into the woods, and at first I can’t see anything, but then my eyes adjust. ‘Tucked away’ is the best way he could’ve described it because the enormous building doesn’t even seem to make a ruckus here. In fact, the hard edges and straight lines on normal buildings don’t exist in the architect at all. As if it moves with the forest, blending so spectacularly that it could pass as invisible to the untrained eye and it almost does but now that I’ve noticed it it’s amazing how it could go unnoticed. Greens, browns, and natural colors splay across it.
“This is a multi-layered architecture, and on each floor there are different biomes to house rare and specific herbs from different areas around the world. Anything you can think of, Mrs Beaumont has it. All herbal classes will be held here, if that’s not obvious enough.” He mumbles the sarcasm, then moves to pass all of us, heading straight back towards The Grand Spire and the center of the rest of the paths. Some of the students began to slack behind and Vin noticed right away, snapping his fingers.
“Keep up. Wouldn’t want any of you to get snatched by the rogue Fae in this area now would we?”
Did he… Did he just say Fae?
𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋
After getting a tour down every other pathway and being shown more areas such as the Vertex, the Nexus, The Quad, and the second library that is on campus it’s finally becoming real. I mean, it was real when I stepped through the gates, but now actually getting shown around and prepping for our first day is sending excitement blazing through my veins. Our entire group is pushing through the large oak doors of The Grand Spire.
“This place is bigger than I thought.” I admit, and that alone says something. I already had thought up the biggest expanse possible and yet here we are, doubling that.
“You can say that again.” The alchemist’s daughter, Valoria, speaks up. She comes to stand beside Julien and I while we take in the tall white walls that turn inward the higher they go. There were other students in here as well, but they were all upper classmen, the ones in our year were all standing in the center of the room waiting for what comes next.
“Nice little welcome home party.” Julien grins, looking into the crowd with his chin raised high. He met everyone’s gaze with such a stern attitude. Meanwhile, his shadow became my favorite spot. I slipped into it like a second skin, shying away from any prying eyes and there were a lot of them. Similar to the podium outside, one sat close to the back wall of The Grand Spire and like the one previous to it, I only noticed it because the woman currently occupying it.
“Who is that?” Drawing my hand up slightly, I pointed up at her and with lightning speed, Julien pushed it right back down with a glance.
“Dean-” The rest of his words never leave his mouth as the woman clears her throat. The echo from the mic has the room falling deathly silent, awaiting her words.
“Everyone, I am Dean Thalven.” Ghostly gray would be the only way to describe those piercing eyes she’s raking through the crowd. They pan to my section, and pass everyone slowly. My brain seems to want to imagine things, but as she passes them over me I swear they linger a bit longer than they had on the other students.
“We pride ourselves on knowing that we house the future leaders of the supernatural race. With that being said, we only accept the top tier candidates, so if you’re standing here today please give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve successfully passed stage one of acceptance.” Cheers from all directions came, but my fingertips went cold at her words. Stage One? With a glance, I catch Julien’s face mirror the same confusion that was written along my features as well. This wasn’t known… At least not to us. Sorena Latis grinned as she looked out towards all of us and I knew without a doubt she knew what was to come.
Along one of the beams of the walls, hovering closer to the upper classmates stood Grey. He was talking to someone as he watched all of us. Not a single worry as to what was coming. I dip my attention from him and onto the individual he’s speaking to. From the gods above, the male looked like death reincarnated. His sharp features and molten golden eyes that I could make out even from over here was deadly. His shoulders were broad, making Gray seem more lean than anything in his presence.
“Hey, did you catch that?” Julien’s elbow nudges into my arm, snapping me back to the Dean. But not before I saw a pair of golden eyes latch onto me.
