Second Year Orientation with a Twist

Classes begin with Orientation. All students in your year, which total to less that sixty, meet in the Grand Hall, a large open area which serves as an auditorium. All students take their seats, separated by House. You sit amongst the other Wyvern students, right between your new roommate and his girlfriend. They seem like nice enough people. Keira pulls a small bag of candy out of her bag and offers you some but you politely refuse. This is all a bit overwhelming and you're far too nervous to have an appetite. Liam senses your tension and tries to calm you by explaining orientation is a simple formality in which the professors explain the goals of the new year and administer a simple test to determine each student's magical potential.

Three members of the faculty take the podium. An elderly but intimidating man introduces himself as Frederick Hallgrave, the Headmaster of the academy and a former Cerberus student nearly a century ago. Next a young disheveled professor in a white lab coat introduces himself as Samael Schwartz, head of the school's medical department and professor of Alchemic studies. Finally a busty, curvy brunette in a short sweater dress and knee high griffin leather boots introduces herself as Rebecca Dove, the Dean of Students and professor of Archaic Sorcery.

She grabs your attention more than the others, but it's definitely not because she's sexy. No, she just seems like an especially prolific teacher. You half-heartedly tell yourself that, anyway, thinking that it's probably not a good idea to focus on lewd thoughts about your professors on your first day at a magic academy.

To distract yourself, you focus on the candles floating above your table. The magic holding them up is interesting enough to get your mind off of the situation at hand, at least for a moment. You follow the blue and white tendrils in the air, noting each point where they seem to fold out of existence. In one such space, you see a shimmering flame, though you have to focus your energies to catch it. So that's how they light them all at once.

After a few more lectures on the importance of working together and studying hard, the orientation comes to a close with the public grading of student's magical potential. This is when each student is lead onto the stage and tested for their magical aptitude by professor Schwartz, which is stressful enough to shake you from your daydreams.

A white crown carved from the branch a thousand year old tree is placed on each student's head, and depending on the color the wood turns, a student's potential magical ability is determined by professor Schwartz on a scale of 1 to 100. Most students average about 40 to 52 on the scale, and none get lower than 15. Anything below 25 is extraordinarily rare, especially since the mage would have had to pass their first year, but you've been told that it happens every couple of decades.

You keep yourself busy by watching what the crown does. Each student who puts on the revered magical item is instantly washed in a warm glow. Probes seem to poke and prod at reservoirs beneath the surface of the students' skin that you can barely even feel. It's hard to get a grasp on the theory, but that's why you're so exited that a school like this found you in the first place. The thought that you'll be able to dive into the ideas behind the arcane almost makes you giddy.

It's hard to study the magical energies in yourself. You've tried before, and achieved some success, but it was always easier to see what you were doing with the magic than it was to see the magical depths you have within youself. It's like trying to locate and then study a still pool of underground water as opposed to noting a rushing rivers direction, but harder because the pool is, in a way, you, and therefore blends in. Observing the hat is giving you some new ideas about how to approach it though, and you stare at your bare hand while opening your mind to your own body. It doesn't take long to find some magical energies, but something feels... off. Like you have more stored in the rifts within yourself than the pools themselves.

A part of you wonders why the crown's probing energies seem to avoid some of the more obvious magical pools in the students. You wouldn't have noticed those pools before, but now that you were starting to see where to look it seemed like some of the "dimensional folds," as you'd taken to calling the rifts, were being ignored. Maybe they weren't important, or the crown sensed them through other, unseen magic? Clearly, you just didn't know enough yet. You wondered if one of your textbooks explained it all with the actual terms.

Trying to parse the why and how of the magic was exciting enough to keep your nerves at bay. You watch, however, as a short but beautiful blonde with sage green eyes and an ample chest takes the crown, and the warm probing immediately turns to a hot flame. A slight pain digs into your eyes as if you had briefly glanced into the sun, and you turn away, sensing the frantic tendrils of magic on the girl only with your mind.

Finally, the magic seems to cease. Hesitantly, you turn and see that no one else was as effected as you. Not being from a magical background was apparently already putting you at a disadvantage. You couldn't even sense what magic the other students and faculty used to deal with the sensations of that last display, so you knew your score was going to be atrocious. Or were they just used to it? Hopefully that was the case. Liam didn't seem fazed at all, though he was looking at you curiously.

Did he somehow think that someone as inexperienced as you wouldn't react to that display? It's possible, everyone here could be so much more used to everything than you that your very reactions would be seen as the only oddities.

Whatever the case was, you feel your stress coming back in full . The fact that the buxom girl manages to get a score of 93 doesn't help much. Whispers break out amongst the students and you overhear the girl's identity. She's from Phoenix house and her name is Harmony Ashcroft. Her family founded the academy centuries ago, meaning she comes from deep magical roots and a privileged background. They says she's very antisocial and finds the other students beneath her, not even acknowledging them if their score is below an 80.

Liam and Kiera get called up before you. You give them each a nod as they walk up to the front, then watch the hat work its magic. Both score in the low 60s, which is better than average. You wonder if the nearly transparent bindings pulling them together do anything to their scores. You'd think they would, since some seem to connect in the dimensional folds and their magical centers, but at the same time it might just be a spell that keeps them together. It's hard to say.

Finally your own turn comes, after everyone else has gone. Last but not least, you hope. You nervously walk up the stage and pray to hit a number that won't embarrass you. Schwartz senses your anxiety and gently reassures you there's nothing to be nervous about. You sit and feel the crown placed upon your head, it constricts and it almost feels like it's scratching your brain as the process commences. A moment later professor Schwartz makes the announcement: 2, he proclaims with confidence, though you note a slight tremor in his voice and a thick layer of uncertainty pours from his body into your mind's eye.

The Hall falls silent for just a moment before erupting into a sea of questions. No one knows how you even got into the school, let alone skipped a grade. The blonde Aschcroft girl rolls her eyes and almost seems pissed to be in the same room as you.

Two? How could you score so low? No wonder no one else was having trouble with the magical spikes in the room earlier. Oh shit, was your questioning and analysis of the magic around you something that you were to do because of your ineptitude? A weight grows in your chest, and you close your eyes for a moment. It feels like the very things that make you, you, are shameful. Wrong and stunted.

The people around you are still talking. Talking and laughing. Someone's hand is on your shoulder, but you don't look back. You can feel that it's professor Schwartz, but you don't want to look at him. You feel the crown of the ancient tree lift from your head, and he speaks to you. The words flow past your ears, unheard, but you imagine he said to go back to your table. It's just hard to get the motivation to stand.

For a moment, you lose control of yourself. Emotions flare and you see their black shroud emanate from your body, pouring out of the magical rifts inside you. Without control it, you know that you could wreak havoc. Well, you thought so, but clearly anyone here, professor or student, would put you in your place soon enough. This probably just looked like a temper tantrum to them, something a child would do. Not that you could stop it.

You sit still, in front of everyone, with your head in your hands. The black cloud gains a tinge of red and coils. It strikes out, instantly snuffing out the hundreds of floating candles by invading the rifts and tendrils you had studied earlier. Fire in the lamps along the wall sways as if buffeted by an indoor gust, then extinguishes. Electricity running through the room crackles and pops, redirected and stopped.

When the illusions and apparitions of your nightmares start to flicker into being, demonic creatures and beautiful myths alike, you wonder why no one has stopped you yet. You look up, only to see students panicking, looking around in alarm. Liam and Keira are huddled with some fo their other friends as if ready to strike, and you notice the cute brunette from earlier standing near the high-scoring Ashcroft girl, who is in some sort of calm combat stance. She doesn't even acknowledge the brunette, though.

The professors are even jumping around the room, looking around wildly, while the headmaster sits back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. Finally, a sense of hopelessness grows within you, and you regain some control of yourself, unable to think about anything other than your pathetic nature.

Why was everyone so worried, though? It's not like your magic could possibly do anything to them.

The black cloud rushes back into you, and the inanimate things in the room stop moving. With a thought, you reform the tenuous connection between the candles in the air and relight them, drawing in energy even as you expelled it.

Maybe you could become some sort of assistant in order to stay involved in the magical world despite your score, studying how actual magic users felt and learning pieces of what they know?

The two professors are still roaming the room, and you can see their eyes bolstered by a green criss-crossing energy that seems to give them greater sight, though you're not sure exactly what it does. Since they are seemingly busy and out of the way, whereas the Headmaster is behind you, you take a deep breath and turn to apologize to him.

As you look at the elderly man, you almost lose your nerve, but you feel terrible and figure that your academic life might be on the line. It would be awful to have to return to your own life at this point, no closer to any answers, discovering things on your own in your private den. Finally, you softly say, "Sir, I'm sorry for that outburst. I promise that if you allow me to stay at this school that it will never happen again."

His eyes seem to pierce your very soul. They lock onto yours, and you can do nothing but stare into the abyss of his black irises. Eventually, he nods, then stands and moves to the podium nearby.

To the assembled students, he says, "Thank you all for coming tonight. I hope that you've found tonight informative, and that you will use your newfound knowledge of yourselves and your curriculum to focus in on the studies that matter to your education." As he speaks, you see the room slowly quiet down, until everyone is staring at the headmaster. He continues, saying, "The disturbance tonight is nothing to worry about, I can assure you. It appears that we had some stray pixies commingling with the succubi and ghosts of the eastern halls, and some of their magic lines got crossed. It's been sorted, but for now I'd like for all of you to return to your dorms. The next week will be a challenging start to the year, and you should all get well rested. If anyone was hurt, or believes that you may have been hurt, please wait for the Head Nurse and then follow her to the infirmary. That will be all."

The students grumble among themselves, and the professors glance at the headmaster, confused. You see a blue streak swirl from his head to each of theirs, and they then begin to shepherd the other students out of the hall. The blonde girl gives you one last disapproving gaze as she leaves, and you catch Liam looking at you with sympathy before he too is out of the room.

Finally, you are left with just the Headmaster and the two professors. Before the professors get to the two of you, the Headmaster puts his hand on your shoulder and says, "Don't worry. You're an interesting case, and you're definitely meant to be here. We'll all talk it over later. For now, please head back to your dorm and get some rest. If you get a summons tomorrow to meet with me or any other professors, please follow it. Alright?"

You say, "Y-yeah. Thank you sir!" Well, that was reassuring enough. Confusing, but it was a hell of a lot nicer than what you expected. With one last glance at him and the mess on the floor, you turn and rush towards the exit. Behind you, the start of a conversation about what took place is occurring, but you don't care to try to hear it.

Was the Headmaster really the only one who noticed? How could that be, given your magic score? It didn't seem to you like anyone else had noticed, though, but you weren't sure how they could have missed the magic and emotion coming out of you.

The Headmaster went to talk to the professors out of your earshot. Sure, you could throw some invisible ears near them, but you figured they'd notice if you did. Besides, it just seemed wrong to invade their privacy, especially if you somehow weren't going to be expelled for either a lack of magical ability or your recent outburst.

As you left the hall, you stole one last glance back. The Headmaster's back was to you, but the professors were looking your way. Schwartz seemed angry and stern, whereas Rebecca Dove seemed almost... curious and happy? That couldn't be right.

After unfocusing your eyes, you look at her again. The purple specks in her mostly yellow aura could indicate curiosity and joy. It was hard to tell, especially at a glance.

Not wanting to linger or be punished more than you will be tomorrow, you decide to high tail it out of there and get some rest. You are feeling pretty drained after all that excitement.

You walk the twisting and changing halls, somehow knowing exactly where to go. Finally, you get to your dorm and press your badge and hand to the door. It swings open, and you step into the common area. For a moment you pause, taking in the large space and the comfy looking couches that sit in the middle of the room. There's even a TV, and a nice fireplace. All in all, it's a great common area, with places to eat and chill and study.

The thing that's not as great, in your eyes, is all the students milling about who stare at you when you enter. You flinch, wondering what any of them might say. Some of them you vaguely recognize from orientation, but you don't spot Liam anywhere. After a brief moment, someone chuckles at you and the students turn away from you, going back to their own conversations.

You stride quickly to your room, but you hear people talking behind you. Every conversation you catch seems to be about your outburst, but no one mentions you at all. It's all just discussions about whether what the Headmaster said could possibly be true, and most seemed to think it couldn't. It all just left you with more questions, but the supposedly loyal dorm you were a part of didn't seem like they cared enough to talk with you at the moment.

A sigh escapes your lips as you enter your room. The door shuts, and you feel calm, yet empty. Liam's pillow is missing, and you assume that he's sleeping with Keira for the night. Deciding to just call it a night and deal with everything tomorrow, you hop into bed. Despite your nerves, you manage to pull in the calm energies of the sleeping insects in your walls into yourself, and you find yourself drifting off.