"When we discuss the victory our Founders attained, we cannot forget about the people who aided them. The First Students we call them, even though formally, the academy had not yet been established. It is more of a sign of respect to show our great beginnings. Arcadia Academy is not for the meek; it is for the strong."
Over one-hundred fifty years had passed since then: The Time of Unmaking and the Final Confrontation were but a lesson in the history books.
"The conqueror Prince Virgil was a mad, terrible man. Seeing divine power wielded by such evil, the Founders decided to establish this Academy. With the power of the Eternal Flame and the Master Staff, it took seven days to create what would be Arcadia Academy and return the realm to what it once was. Now, what we want to talk about today is Luminara. Luminara's job following the establishment of Arcadia Academy was to negotiate and write peace treaties with the local villages. Which villages did she go to? Which leaders did she meet up with? All these questions we will be answering—"
Yawn.
Get a job, go to a good academy, get an Arcadia Wizarding Degree, and life would sort itself out. That was what everyone was told. That was what everyone wanted.
Arcadia Academy was a realm that few could enter. After Prince Virgil and the Time of Unmaking, Arcadia became a realm solely for the purpose of education.
There were Seven Great Realms outside the Realm of Arcadia. Seven Great Cities as they were commonly referred to. No matter the religion, no matter the god, every single one of those realms wanted to send their child to Arcadia Academy.
"Arcadia is the best in all the realms," they all exclaimed.
It was no exaggeration, it was the truth. Arcadia Academy was the best and all the families and people in every single realm wanted to go there. Go here.
After all, it was Leonard's reality. He was a student in the best academy in all the realms.
It was the last and fourth period. Lunch was done. Combat class was finished. It was now the History of Arcadia Academy. Some kids were sweaty and some kids were sleepy. Generally, this lecture did not interest them at all.
Blah, blah, blah. Prince Virgil was evil, the Four Founders gathered up and trained a bunch of people, and Prince Virgil was defeated by their collective efforts. Everybody and their grandmothers knew this story. It was the quintessential hero story alongside Heracles' Twelve Labours and Perseus' slaying of Medusa.
More importantly, they were going to be discussing not the battle but the aftermath of the battle. The boring parts of the story. The happily ever after.
For Leonard Truman, it wasn't the material that distracted him so much was the smell in the lecture hall.
'Ugh, why do some of them have to sweat so much? Isn't there a spell to remove odour?'
Leonard Truman's nose was uniquely sensitive. For him, sitting among sweaty nineteen year olds after combat class was hell. Pure hell.
'Ignore it, Leonard, ignore it.'
Leonard pushed through it, drawing in as much good air as he could and then focusing on the old lady with the knobby knees and shaky, kind voice.
With thick, nerdy glasses and combed brown hair, Leonard looked like any other face in the crowd of students. Except for perhaps one feature: his eyes. Heterochromic, the left eye was a delightful shade of brown while the right eye was a mix of yellow-blue.
In a world of demons, monsters, beasts, angels, Valkyries, and everything in between, his eyes did not appear out of place. Yes, by all accounts, Leonard Truman was an ordinary student during a time of peace.
Professor Macky noticed that he paid attention. Professor Macky appreciated it and went on with her lecture with deeper confidence:
"—hence why all this negotiating was necessary. The Founders of our precious Arcadia Academy believed in a single goal: to spread the innocence of life. As you all know, it is something of our motto. Every life has a fire, a shadow, a wind, and a place on the Earth."
The lecture hall echoed the old woman's voice and amplified it for the hundred some students. Ink and quill wrote down notes, albeit not many. Leonard was among the students writing. He was a busy, diligent student and behind him were whispers and annoyances. This class was the end. This class was their gateway to freedom.
"When is this old lady gonna be done? Jesus."
"Heh, let's sneak out."
"Ha, you think she'll notice?"
Cue a cackle and louder whispers from the rowdy students.
"Professor Macky? Her knees will give out before she can chase off. I wanna buy shit for Mira's party. Remember two weeks ago? Shit went crazy!"
After some laughs, their voices ceased. Their footsteps creeped away. They were…crawling?
Leonard sighed. 'These bastards really are leaving. Whatever.'
He suspected the sentiment was shared among a majority of students. This class—the History of Arcadia Academy—was a bird course. An easy course with an easy, old teacher who was known to be a pushover.
Professor Macky, the sweet woman, kept talking. Walking with a cane, trying to keep everyone's attention, she gestured and lectured. "Luminara, Noctis, Terranova, and Chelys. Being our founders, they reflect the four dorms here which you all belong to. They reflect certain attributes and attitudes. Even though at first Luminara was not the negotiating type, upon retrospect, she could not have been better. The great god Pan was dead. The people needed a bold sign of greatness. Noctis and Terranova were too passive and Chelys was a giant turtle already respected in the community. But this was a new power. A new establishment. The people needed a new, strong face and nobody was stronger or bolder than Luminara. Now, there is a matter of last names. Back then, directly following the Chaotic Era, the naming culture was vastly different than how it is now. Which is why Luminara initially struggled to address the names of—"
"Blah, blah, blah."
Mocking jests and chuckles continued to interrupt Professor Macky. They weren't loud and though they didn't cut her off, they did blur over her. The professor's lips did not wither in their polite smile. She continued to lecture.
Students took that as a sign to amp up their whispers and talk. They talked and talked and talked until no one was listening. Leonard felt bad for the professor. The walls were made of a special material and marked with magic circles that echoed her voice. Yet even then, she was slowly being drowned out.
DING-DONG, DING-DONG, DING-DONG!
'Ah, there it is. I love you, bell.'
The Bell of Arcadia rang once, twice, three times, overpowering all other sounds for the briefest of moments. Every time it echoed, every time it clanged, it caused exhilaration. It created pause.
Then reality returned to what it was. Students started to rise and speak in non-lecture friendly tones.
Professor Macky was hardly able to say goodbye, give one last note, or say goodbye. Clearing up her throat, she gave them a reminder. "Remember, everyone, we have a quiz tomorrow—"
A squeaky, high-pitched voice interjected the professor.
"Professoooor, please, can't you move it next week? We have a boot camp tomorrow."
Leonard grimace. Goddammit. He didn't have whatever class the squeaky girl was talking about so he couldn't relate. 'If you push it another week, it's going to get lumped in my quiz for Rare Herb Identification. Do you know how much I have to memorize?'
"Ah, is that so—"
"Yeah," chimed in a friend of the squeaky girl, "it's for most of us."
'Not me!' Leonard wanted to chime in.
Professor Macky cleared her throat. "For those of you taking Muscle Training, I can arrange for—"
The name of the squeaky girl escaped him. Leonard could only remember that her voice was super annoying and grabbed everyone's attention. She smelled like overblown perfume too. Ew. "Wouldn't it be easier just for everyone? Right, everyone? Come on."
There were three of them and now there were more. Professor Macky was outnumbered.
"Please, Professor?"
"Pleeease?"
Other pleases and begging haunted the professor from all over, many from students who didn't even have the boot camp tomorrow.
Professor Macky forced a smile. "Of course, my dears."
"Yay!"
With the dismissal of the quiz, the three preppy chicks were happy to leave. All were from Luminara too. Arrogant crap heads. Bullying an old lady who in all likelihood was going to retire after this semester.
'I would definitely do something,' Leonard thought, 'if I could.'
If he could. Definitely. But he definitely couldn't. Not an option for Leonard. Not at all. For him, the only thing he could do in school was stay as anonymous as possible. First year was a success, albeit there had been some hiccups. This was the beginning of his second year.
'Don't mess up. Don't draw up attention. Come on, Leo. Look out for yourself.'
He tried not to be in so much of a rush as he packed up. Soon, everyone else was gone and only he and a select number of students remained.
This was a bird course. An easy course.
Leonard Truman was a good student. Not great, not terrible, slightly average, but good. He was a good student who went to class, got good marks, and went to his dorm before curfew where…
Uh, nevermind.
Leonard adjusted his thick blocky glasses. He kept his lips locked and waited for the lingering students to leave. He pretended to be stacking his textbooks.
Professor Macky was writing on her notepad. She wrote on it often. For changing test dates or when she got an idea during lecture and needed to write it down.
Leonard had never seen someone write so sadly.
Internal sigh.
'Dammit.'
This wasn't the first time. Every time he saw her like this, he pushed himself to talk to her. He had a thing for helping out elderly women. He went down the stairs of the lecture hall and waved at the Professor. "Hello, Professor Macky."
"Oh, Leonard!" Her usual smile returned and he was hit with the full wave of dark magic. That was her element, he surmised, and like all dark magic practitioners it made the back of the throat feel dry. "Any questions, dear?"
Not really, no. Leonard was probably her favourite student and as her favourite student he studied her class to perfection. Time to come up with one.
"Y-yeah, just curious about, uh, something I read in the textbook. So, the Arcadia Founders found," Leonard chuckled nervously, "the academy because they heard trouble was here."
"Ah, motive. That's what you are asking. Why did they come to the Realm of Arcadia? The Seven Great Cities were much safer and better."
A nod from Leonard. Professor Macky went to her desk, crane carrying her over, and sat down. Her legs needed a break after all the standing.
"Luminara famously proclaimed that she wished to test out her battle prowess. She crafted the Flaming Sword and needed a target, so to speak. Noctis wished to bring the night to the realm, as before this, the Realm of Arcadia was said to never lose the sun. Terranova was a simple traveler and scholar. As for Chelys…"
Professor Macky trailed off, her eyes fluttering. She looked in pain, putting a finger to her temple and grunting.
"He already lived here," Leonard finished quickly. "I'm surprised that they stuck around though."
Professor Macky opened an eye. Pain was stinging her. "Oh?"
"I mean, I don't know if I would fight off a psychopathic prince like they did. They took the time to train up the people even knowing the odds were impossible. A million to what? Ten thousand?"
"Ten thousand indeed. The records from back then are hard to come by but that is the estimated population based on researched archeology."
"Which you discovered," Leonard pointed out. "I read your paper, it was amazing."
Scholarship, study of history and mathematics and magic circles; all were necessary to succeed in being a Wizard. It wasn't only about raw power, it was about knowledge.
"You learn a thing or two about math and history when you get to my age," Professor Macky said, smiling proudly. That was a good face.
"Ten thousand or even a hundred thousand, terrible odds either way," Leonard said, half-joking. "And I hear he had some crazy weapons too. A sword, a spear, bow and arrow, a key. The Mad Prince was—"
"Madly skilled?"
Okay, that actually got Leonard to laugh.
The old woman smiled. Her eyes were a sharp, snake-like shade of yellow and two black dots were spotted under her left eye. "Leonard, my dear, all things worth fighting for are hard to achieve. I wish it weren't so, but it is. I am glad that the Founders did what they did. I am glad we have reached this point where I could I meet students like you."
Leonard rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't know if you should be saying that about all the students."
Professor Macky chuckled. "People are complex. This world harbors secrets and evil, Leonard. As long as you stay true to yourself, as long as you extend a helping hand and keep hope in your heart as I have, you will be okay. I am sure of it."
The statement itself was fine, albeit dramatic. It was her smile though. That smile reminded him of blood and tears from an old memory he wanted to forget.
Professor Macky grunted again. In pain, it seemed.
"Are…are you okay, professor?" he asked.
Professor Macky leaned back on her chair, eyes closed. He swore he saw the veins in her eyes redden.
"Apologies, I…"
"You need rest." Leonard gave a nod. "I understand. I'll leave."
"Thank you, dear."
Leonard stayed there. She was still breathing. She was still okay. Her scent, however, it was…strange. Like she was covering something up.
'Is she sick or…?'
Oh. Ohhh. That smell. It was…
Well…
'This isn't really any of my business.'
Tentatively, after some more glances at the poor lady in white, he climbed the stairs and exited the lecture hall.
This was not the story of a traditional hero. This was not the story of someone who yearned for glory. The opposite, he wished for a peaceful life.
Alas, for a young man harbouring great power and great secrets, that could never be.