He is a remarkable person, but he is not very happy with your branch of magic

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 … you got to be kidding me. Another dark mage? Well, then I better remind you right now to follow the rules and the law thoroughly. Stay away from trouble and we will not have a problem with each other.”

“Yeah girl,” the woman from the desk interrupts happy and suddenly hugs you from behind, “you are one of us. I knew there is a reason I liked you. Come with me! I show you everything. See you later boss.”

“No, you will not, Raka!” Professor Tiberius says sharp, “you stay here and take care of any guests! Follow me, novice. I show you a bit around. And stay away from people like Raka and her friends. She is a troublemaker. I really hoped this stable work would do you some good, but it seems my hopes have been disappointed bitterly.”

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. During this you get several more warnings not to mess with any equipment and follow your teachers’ orders. When you ask him why he has such a negative view on dark mages he tells you that your kind is not only the most dangerous kind of mages but also the one that has the most renegade mages among their ranks. But he also admits that he is probably a little too harsh, since you have not done anything wrong by now.

After a while, 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 Shadowheart, I hereby entrust your new student into your capable hands.”

Many students applaud for you. The other dark mages, despite being the smallest group, are the loudest. However, there are several students who are not impressed and watch you rather worried or even degrading.

“Thank you, professor,” a wiry and pale person with a long black robe, short white hair and red eyes answers with a shy and kind of whispering voice while standing up from the professors table, “welcome my dear. It has been a while our small house got a volunteer member. Please sit down with us. After dinner I will get you a room, a robe, a book and some writing material. And some other things. Whatever you need to work. As soon as you are able to read, we can start your magic lessons.”

“Thank you … Professor,” you answer a little unsure if you are talking to a man or a woman, since professor Shadowheart’s face and body are so neutral, that you can impossible guess his or her gender, “but … I already can read. It is not common for someone like me, but it is true. And … well … I am glad to be here.”

“Excellent,” Professor Shadowheart answers quiet and smiles, “we have to test this, but this makes things much easier. Please sit down now! Your classmates want to get to know you. Maye you even get a hug from one or two.”

You quickly find out this was no joke. 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. Unlike Professor Shadowheart, whom you consider a little creepy, the dark magic students seem to be a bunch of completely normal people. You see no real difference to the other students. 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 at least a few 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, an 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 Shadowheart and some other students lead you to the dorm rooms. They are divided in five sections. The dark mages have their rooms in the basement, next to some kind of dungeon. According to Professor Shadowheart, this is not to **** the dark mages. Instead it is to control the results of dark magic studies, which can be quite dangerous. painful or terrifying.

You get a small room with dark gray, or rather almost black, stone walls and a small niche that contains a magic ball of warm light. 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.

“This will be your room,” the professor tells you calm, “when you hear the bell 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. Be careful to not get lost. **** is not allowed during lessons or work. ****, they are not allowed at all. Girls and boys sleep in separate rooms, as long as you are below 18 years. Be careful to not break any rules! Our kind is monitored extra strict. You get punishment work in the laundry room, the garden, the kitchen or other unpleasant locations. If you are in need money just ask me or my colleagues. The guild offers some paid work, even for dark mages. Do not take any other offers, if you don’t want to end up in jail. In the chest are a few robes and a book for you. Questions?”

“No, thank you, professor,” you answer gratefully but also a little worried, “I will make sure the guild will not regret it.”

“That would be wise,” Professor Shadowheart says pleased and nods encouraging, “welcome ot the mage guild my dear. And don’t worry too much. Our situation sounds worse than it is.”

Professor Shadowheart leaves you alone. You take a few deep breaths. This is all so overwhelming and your professor is a strange woman. While you put on your new green 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. Suddenly some voices disturb your emotional memories.

You open the door and see two of your classmates blocking the path of 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.

“You have no business here,” says a bulky dark mage with crossed arms, “go back to your own dorms and stop harassing our people!”

“We don’t want to harass anybody,” the halfelf says calming, “we just wanted to meet the new student.”

“And who said she wants to meet you?” asks the bulky dark mage.

“It’s alright,” you say quickly, “thank you for your help. I take it from here.”

“Alright, if you want it that way,” the other dark mage says not fully convinced, “just call us if they cause you trouble.”

You classmates leave but you doubt that they go far. The other students come to you to introduce themselves.

“Greetings, newbie,” the halfelf says and shakes your hand, “sorry for the incident. 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, that’s a playful name for the fire mages,” the girl adds still a little nervous, but she seems more comfortable now that she speaks with you, “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 smile, “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. We never had a chance to befriend with a dark mage. Your classmates can be a little … shy.”

“That’s one way to call it,” Luna mumbles, “but the point is, we are interested in you and your future way. And we wanted to offer our help in every way you are willing to accept it.”