"Children of shadow and flame, of water and wind, of blood and bone… welcome." A male voice spoke, deep and smooth.
"Here, within these gates, your past life ends and your true path begins. You have been gathered not by chance, but by fate. The world outside may see you as myths, monsters, or mistakes but within these walls, you are acknowledged for what you are; power unshaped, destiny untested." His voice continued. Some murmured, some smiled, something seemed to mesmerize them more than speech.
"This academy is not a sanctuary. It is a crucible.You will be broken and remade. You will study the art of survival, the craft of magic, the weight of prophecy, and the truth of yourselves. Know this, some of you will excel beyond heights, some of you will be the right hand of destruction and doom and some of you will not leave these halls alive.
But should you endure… should you rise above fear and weakness… then you will no longer simply belong to the realms. You will rule them."
He stopped speaking and the silence sat strong for 2 minutes, it was like nothing dared breathe or move without his approval.
"Through the course of your being here, you'll find out your true potential, there won't be any special treatments or personal training. You either step up or get dropped. We have a total of five houses. Some forged in fire, some cloaked in shadow, some awakened by blood, others in storm and stone.where you belong will not be decided by want but by truth."
"Don't worry, I'll help you fit in perfectly" syla whispered beside me.
"Remember this is about the best and not those trying. You'll have collective classes and training before initiation. The initiation is your acceptance into your house as the best amongst the rest. Remember greatness comes from the strong and the strong alone. With that, I welcome you all to the arcanum academy of Concordia"
The crowd erupted into cheers and shouts, their voices crashing together like waves. I could swear I heard howling. Some embraced each other, others with fists in the air, their faces painted with a happiness I didn't share. My stomach twisted, I never asked for any of this yet somehow I knew I was already bound.
"This way" syla said, picking up her bags and moving towards where the voice had spoken from. I picked mine and walked with her. As we moved forward I noticed a huge doorway. Three boys stood at the entrance, atop the stairway.
Syla said something about rooming but I couldn't pay attention to anything she was saying. This cathedral-looking building had all of my attention. As we made our way up the stairs, I saw him again.
The same God-like boy, who had tripped me earlier. Hands in pocket, eyes vaguely plain, like they held no emotion. A little ray of sunlight glazed his blonde hair.
"wow, Draken. One might almost believe you enjoyed speaking to the kids." one of the boys said flashing a smile I'd seen too many times. A fake smile.
The next second, a girl draped in silks the color of blood, walked to them, her lips curled in a half-smile.
"So stern, so commanding… I almost applauded. Almost. Though really, it sounded less like a welcome and more like a threat."
The third guy, lean and shadow-eyed, folded his hands behind his back.
"You will rule them,' was it? Careful, Draken. Words like that sound less like truth and more like ambition. And we wouldn't want to mistake one for the other."
Draken's expression never shifted. He didn't say a word, his eyes half-lided, until their smirks faded. Then he said, voice low but commanding
"Ambition belongs to children. I was only reminding them what survival demands. If you find it frightening…" His gaze slid over each of them, slow like a blade being drawn. "…perhaps the crucible will not be kind to you either."
Syla leaned in close to me, whispering with a smirk.
"Told you. Void of manners, emotions… and friends."
Syla and I pushed,shoved and dodged our way through the crowd.
"Since we haven't passed initiation's yet we'd be staying at the dorms."
We walked to a large part of the school, it had rooms that went on for centuries. Each room had a number and a strange language engraved under it. Syla kept searching for a particular number, after what felt like hours, she found it . Room 57.
We walked in, the room smelled of wax and dust. Thick enough to choke on, like the walls hadn't breathed in ages. I choked on the air, coughing violently. Syla stood in the middle of the room and muttered words so soft but fearful.
The air went light, shifting from thick to breathable fresh air, like the whole room breathed. Magic?. Actual magic. What world did I land in.
"So, we're going to be roommates from now on" she said as if nothing just happened, "I'm Syla Reed and you are?"
"Averin..Averin wren".
"Alright averin, we're going to have some ground rules: as long as we share this room. there will be no parties in this room" she turned serious all of a sudden
"should you have a male guest and cannot control your lust, please girl code. I'd prefer you not to have relations with some students, specifically the wolves. trust them only as far as you can smell them, which is not very far. Got it".
I was taken back by the way she causally dropped the word 'wolves' into the conversation.
"Okay, got it" I nodded trying not to look startled or stupid.
"Any questions or objections, so this can be as fair as possible". She asked, hands behind her back.
"How did we get to be roommates? Where I'm from, I believe we have our names paired after getting into the school and I didn't exactly apply to be here. Honestly I don't know why or how I'm here"
"We do it the same way. it's just…you seem to be a special student averin" I watched her lips curl into a mischievous smile as the last sentence rolled off her tongue.
"What I mean..miss wren" she walked to me, dragging each step across the wood floor boards "somehow your name showed up out of nowhere and my mom specifically asked me out of ten of my sister's to come here and be your… how do you say…Guide"
the word guide riding her lips like a warning.
"So what are you?" She asked walking to her bags. I just stood there trying to understand what she meant by that.
"I'm a cheerleader. I guess" I responded but she laughed.
it sounded so much like rina.
"I mean, are you a banshee or some rare hybrid"
Banshee? What? How?.
"Since you're not going to tell me, I'll guess" a green silk dress dropped from her hands and her feet moved towards me. I stood there like paperweight, watching her make her way to me while staring me down.
"Well you're not a vamp, your skin's too glowy for that. You definitely aren't a banshee or hybrid". She tilted her head, obviously still trying to figure out God knows what.
"Well you are beautiful enough to be a succubi" her eyes glimmered with something that felt unrealistic.
"Fair warning, if you are anything that moves in dreams and I see you in mine. I can promise you only one of us would be waking up… and it's most likely to be me"