He is a remarkable person. In many different ways.

The black-haired woman walks up a nearby stair and you are alone in the entrance hall. But you don’t have to wait for long until the woman comes back. She has a sly and somewhat mischievous grin on her face that makes you feel uneasy around her.

“The director has taken your letter and will be here in a few minutes,” she informs you short and hides her face behind her book.

You wonder what has happened, when suddenly two men walk down the stairs. One with a sour look and in fancy clothes which only a noble could afford and one with an elegant, blue robe and a strict look. The second one has the symbol of the guild on his robe, so you assume he is the director. The noble gives you a scathing look before disappearing through the main door without a word.

“Greetings, my dear,” the director says short and examines you critic, “I am Professor Eldritch Tiberius of Stormhaven. Director of the magic school and second in command of Archmage Aurelius. And you must be Clare. From the village of Hardwood, if I’m not mistaken. We expected you earlier, but that’s alright. As long as there are no further delays. Let me see … your branch of magic is mind. Interesting. As long as you stay out of other people’s thoughts, we will not have a problem. But let me know if you by any chance pick up something about the dark mages while training.”

“Yes girl,” the woman at the desk interrupts naughty, “dive into my mind! I have so many forbidden thoughts the boss would really like to know. He probably would even like one or two.”

“Quiet, Raka!” Professor Tiberius says sharp, “what have I done to deserve such a secretary. Your kind always causes trouble. I really hoped this stable work would do you some good. Whatever, you stay here and take care of any guests! Follow me, novice. I show you a bit around.”

Professor Tiberius leads you through several corridors, up and down some stairs and across the campus. You see several classrooms, the training grounds, the basement and even a few special rooms like a ritual room for daemon summoning and a large balcony for astronomy studies. After a while the director even gets calmer and more relaxed. He asks how your travel was and hopes you settle in good. You answer that everything is alright, when suddenly the deep sound of a huge bell rushes over the campus. According to the professor, this means it is time for dinner and he wants to introduce you to your future classmates.

The dining hall is as impressive as the rest of the guild. A high room with six tables. One table for each branch of magic and one for the professors and guests. You see around one hundred mages. Most are students between 16 and 25 years while others are much older. The oldest one has a log white beard and a bald head who you consider to be at least 70 years old. You assume there are some mages who decided to join the guild instead of working on their own after their studies ended. One thing almost everyone has in common is the robe in the color of their branch.

“Attention, students,” Professor Tiberius says loud and immediately everyone stops talking and looks at him, “today we got a new student for our venerable institution. Please welcome Clare among our ranks and make her feel welcome. Professor Mentalis, I hereby entrust your new student into your capable hands.”

Most students applaud for you. The other mind mages are the loudest. However, a few are not impressed and watch you rather degrading.

“Thank you very much, sir,” a thin and pale woman with a long white robe that makes her look like a ghost answers with a high, whispering voice and stands up from the professors table, “welcome my dear. I’m glad you are here. My old classmate Goren already told me about you. After dinner I will get you a room, a robe, a book and some writing material. Everything you need to work. And you already can read. That’s great. So we can skip the basics and you can learn magic right tomorrow.”

“Thank you … Professor,” you answer a little overwhelmed and wonder if Goren told her everything or if she just read your mind without asking.

“Please take a seat,” Professor Mentalis says whispering, “I can sense that your classmates want to welcome you. And some want to hug you, no matter if you like it or not.”

You quickly find out this was no joke, even if it sounded like one. As soon as you are in reach of your classmates, they literally pull you closer and you get hugged several times before they allow you to sit down. Only a few moments later a small group of employees of the Academy enters the dining hall with bowls that contain some noodles and vegetables.

While you eat, everyone at your table and even some students from other branches ask you about where you come from and how your magic was discovered. During this, you notice that not all students are human. You meet at least three elves, a halfelf, a orc, a lizardmen and according to another student there is a student from the seapeople who can’t attend dinner because he is unable to stay out of water for long.

After dinner, Professor Mentalis and some other students lead you to the dorm rooms. They are divided in five sections. The mind mages have their rooms in a tower at the side of the main building. You get a small room with light gray, or rather almost white, stone walls and a small window. The room is just big enough for a bed, a small chest for your personal stuff and a desk with a chair. Despite the size it looks cozy and kind of familiar. You wonder if you had an own room in your previous life. You think you had. Some images about a white room and a bed with pink bedsheets appear in your head.

“Welcome to your room,” the professor tells you whispering, “the bell informs you three times a day when it is time for your meals. You have normal classes in the morning and magic studies in the afternoon. The evening is free time but curfew is at midnight. When you are lost, let the others help you. I would not recommend you ****. It is dangerous and limited. Not allowed during lessons or work. No ****, they are not allowed too. Girls and boys stay in separate rooms in the night, as long as you are below 18 years. And for our kind is the additional rule to not enter anybody’s mind without proper training and permit. It is dangerous. If you break the rules, you get punishment work. This can be work in the laundry room, the garden, the kitchen or every other unpleasant work we normally have employees for. If you are in need money just ask me or my colleagues. The guild offers some jobs for mages. In the chest are a few robes and a book for you. That should be everything. I will let you settle in now.”

“Thank you, professor,” you answer gratefully, “I will make sure the guild will not regret it.”

Professor Mentalis smiles slightly and leaves wordless. You take a few deep breaths. This is all so overwhelming and your professor is a strange woman. While you put on your new white robe and place your few belongings either on your desk or in the chest you think a lot about your new family. You wonder how they are now. Especially Theodor, who is likely in a barrack now and has to train fighting. It is not fair. You get noodles and an own room while he has to share hard bread and thin soup with twenty other guys. A sudden knock at your door disturbs your emotional memories.

You open the door and see two other students. One is a halfelf in a red robe, the other one is a human girl in a blue robe. Both are around your age even if you are unsure if halfelves age the same humans do. You can’t help but consider them really pretty. The halfelf is, thanks to his elven heritage, very good looking, while the human girl has an elegant posture, flawless skin and perfectly styled black hair. She is clearly a noble’s daughter. You immediately shame yourself because your hair is probably rather messy after several days on the road.

“Greetings, newbie,” the halfelf says and shakes your hand, “sorry to interrupt you. I know you are still settling in. Don’t worry, we are not here to mess with you. My name is Omboran. As you can see I am from Professor Ashwolf’s pack.”

“Yeah, a pack of stick-fetchers,” the girl replies teasing but you don’t think this was meant to be an insult, “I’m Lunavell by the way. But Luna is fine. Only my parents use ma full name. I was the newest member before you came. Nice to meet you. Clare was your name, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” you reply and try to hide your blushing, “I … do you want to come in?”

“With pleasure,” Omboran replies and sits down at your desk while you and Luna sit at the bed, “I hope you don’t consider us pushy. We just wanted to get to know the new girl. And offer our help if you need it. In every way you can think about.”