Sort Yourself Out

As you got closer to the building there were more students just milling about. Very few of them wore Academy uniforms, however. Jeane explained that it was because the season was just starting, so you would fit right in with the newest batch of students. She added that all of them would have to be organized into three different Homes that would serve as their 'base' for the duration of their stay. When you asked how it worked, and if there was a ceremony, Jeane simply mentioned that it was a private affair. There was no ceremony and most of the students milling about were waiting for their turn. The year could only truly begin once all the candidates had been Housed or rejected. She was fairly adamant that there was no chance for you to be rejected, though. That offered you some comfort, but did not ease your nerves. You were still thrust into an unfamiliar place with no friends or acquaintances. Your father never prepared you for this place, either.

Jeane let you out of the cart and told you to simply wait around outside like everyone else while she went inside to touch base. The Academy grounds were arcane and unusual. There were shrubs and plants, but on further inspection you found them to be growing bent towards the ground to the point of looking upside-down, like they are trying to perform a handstand. Even the flowers and the weeds had that strange bend to them with the faces of the flowers staring down at the ground instead of catching the sun's rays. As you thought about it, you could not see the sun, but it was still light out.

“It's weird, huh?” Came a small voice beside you. You glanced in the direction of it without seeing anyone.

“Down.” You obeyed the voice and saw a small girl that just about came up to your waist. She was green with long, wide ears. One of them was pierced with three rings that each gradually reduced in size. She was wearing the clothing of someone that lived in the cold, with a warm-looking, rich white fur coat surrounding her small body. She also wore a small and elegant white fur cap on top of her short, messy mane of purple hair. She had dark freckles on her face and used a large pair of thin-framed glasses. You thought girl initially but as you looked at her more closely she had all the features of a woman about your age, just shorter. To be frank, she was quite attractive, if not for her height, to the point that it made you blush. She stared up at you curiously.

“What? Never seen a goblin before?”

“No... Never.” They were not beastfolk and not Orcs. They were also not common. One could go their whole life without meeting the race as they mostly kept to themselves and lived in mountains and vast caves that were said to be lined with gold and other precious metals.

She gave you an unimpressed look, narrowed her eyes and repeated slowly. “It's... Weird... Huh?”

“O-oh!” You look around.

“Yes. Yes it is weird.”

She smiled and cocked her head to one side. “I think it's because we're upside down.”

You considered the statement carefully. “It doesn't feel like it.”

“It doesn't, but look how everything is behaving? Even the grass is curved. I think everything they cared about got enchanted, but that obviously left the grass, the plants and the flowers.”

“Okay?” You shrug.

“Doesn't any of this shit interest you!? Why're you even here, then!” She bared sharp teeth at you, then calmed herself and waved a small green hand dismissively.

“Sorry, sorry. I sometimes forget that they let the riffraff in. It's not your fault.”

“It interests me, I just... Have other things to think about right now.”

She eyed you. “You're worried about getting Housed? Don't worry too much.”

“Have you been Housed yet?”

The goblin grinned, once again baring sharp white teeth. “Coda. Knowledge and Foresight. The best Home, obviously.”

“Are all the Homes named after different mythical figures?” Coda, you knew, was a beastfolk deity commonly associated with the things the girl brought up, but also a few other features that were probably a little too unflattering to mention.

She nodded. “There's also Tintamare and Lauda. Know them?”

“Yes.” You responded truthfully. She seemed impressed. Though your father did not prepare you much, he did leave you a full library from which you were able to gather quite a bit of interesting knowledge.

“Tintamare was the first human sorcerer that was supposed to have lived a thousand years or more. Lauda was a dragon progenitor that was said to cast favor upon humanity during the time of Vagar's march on the north.” You felt satisfaction in the surprised face of the goblin girl.

“So the three houses are Tintamare, Lauda and Coda? I'm guessing then that Tintamare's Home is going to be centered around physical magic and physical activity and Lauda's home is going to be focused on the social studies.”

Her jaw dropped. She pointed straight up at you. “A-are you a legacy student!?”

“No... I read it in a book.”

She exhaled lightly and stared at you suspiciously. “You're a Coda, for sure. I'll be glad to have you on my side.”

“What sides?” You question.

“All three Homes are pitted against each other.” A more full, feminine voice sounded off from behind you. You did not have to turn around, as the figure rounded you quickly and rested a hand on the annoyed goblin girl's head. The woman that stood in front of you was a bronze-skinned Beastwoman with jet-black hair and long, narrow ears that pointed straight up. Her body was very loosely covered by thin white fabric, but you could see through parts of it that she was quite athletic. She looked to be about the same age as you, as well, and was about a half a head taller. Her dark lips curled into a smile.

“The winning Home gains the favor of the headmistress and the few best students within that home are granted wishes. Tintamere is often competing with Lauda, and Coda is usually...” She stared down at the goblin girl smugly.

“Coming up short.”

She screamed and broke away from the tall woman. “Aaaaaah! Bitch! Dog!” The goblin pointed and finally just ended up spitting weakly in the beastwoman's direction.

“Jackal.” The woman corrected calmly. She looked down with a look of disdain.

“Don't spit...”

As the two girls were staring each other down there came a cheer from a few yards away. Some upperclassmen in greenish uniforms were congratulating a small blonde boy. He was, again, your age but far slighter. He seemed thin and feminine in appearance to the extent that you almost could not tell he was a boy at all except for the way he dressed. Noble attire.

“Looks like the Second Prince got Lauda. As expected.” The goblin huffed, pushing her thin frames up her nose. As she said that the boy looked in your direction somewhat sadly. You could see his emerald eyes lock on yours briefly before averting awkwardly back to the group.

“I didn't see him come out of anywhere? How does this selection process work?” You asked.

As the Jackal opened her mouth all of the light faded from the world. You could still see everything around you, but they were just frozen white outlines.

“Let's see... So you're a hero. Legacy student. I recognize the pretty boy look. Reed's kid? He was in Coda. Sound good to you?”

“W-what?” You look all around you and see nothing. Once you have panned your head a full 360 degrees to arrive back to where you were facing originally there was a pure white outline of a figure standing in front of you. She had a nice shape, but that is all there was. Shape. Inside was a white void. There was no expression, no face, no features, just flat geometry like she was a cutout of paper. The figure moved quite expressively, however, waving a hand as she spoke.

“I asked.”

“Is that how this works? I just tell you where I want to go? Also, why are you leaning towards Coda if that's the case?”

“Normally they don't get a choice and I just tell you where you're going. You're going to Coda if you don't got a choice, because that's where you belong.” She paused and tilted her head to one side dramatically.

“But you're not exactly tethered to fate, so what am I supposed to do?” She threw her arms off to the side in a grand shrugging motion.

“I haven't seen someone that can move through fate yet so this is all new to me.”

“What do you mean 'move through fate?'”

“Look, I don't have all the time in the world.” Somehow, as she said that you felt like she was lying.

“Just tell me where you want to go. Tintamere, Lauda or Coda.”

* * *

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