It's been over a cycle since I was almost caught by the Hunters, since I was torn apart from my family and was thrown halfway across the dimension, to the Realm of Magic. They say Magic comes from who you are as a person, from your inner strength an...
We made our way up the stairs leading to the main entrance. My, did I wish I could keep standing in the doorway just for a little while only to take in everything I saw inside. The light that fell through the windows lit up the stair railings in the most beautiful way, leaving a warm glow behind in the high-ceilinged room. The different stairs seemed to go everywhere at once, which left me in an amazement I can not find words for. I kept trying to figure out how exactly the many hallways were connected to one another, but every effort to do so left me more confuzzled than when I started out.
I was just wondering whether I'd be able to find some time to draw this most interesting piece of architecture when Anthea pushed me behind one of the pillars.
'That woman you just saw was Mirana Stirling, Head of Discipline. I don't know why she froze the way she did but I don't think that's normal, I've never seen her like that before.' She paused, shook her head. 'No, I haven't. But that's not important right now, we should focus on your Initiation.'
'What's that all about anyway? It wasn't mentioned in the letter, was it?'
Anthea looked away, silently, as though to show she did know, but thoroughly wished she didn't.
'An...?' I asked.
She looked up, smiled, took my hand and made her way further into the Hall. The message for first class' rang out over the school grounds again, this time ebbed away by the walls of the Main Hall we had entered.
We were two of the first students to arrive in the Main Hall, probably because professor Mekanis had dropped us off earlier than needed to be able to arrive at Bethoran in time for his meeting. I believe he deemed it of the utmost importance.
The Hall was fairly empty, except for a few students scattered across the enormous space.
My attention was caught by an elderly woman in a long, flowy skirt sitting on the far left side of the stairs in the middle of the hall, sipping tea from a small teacup, one that she put back on a saucer magically floating in midair. I noticed she was wearing gloves- I remember thinking how odd it was to see such a thing in the middle of Summer.
She then seemed to notice us, as she raised an eyebrow and patted the stairstep next to her.
'Excuse me,' I squeaked, 'are we- is this where we're supposed to be gathering?'
'I suppose you could say so.' The lady confirmed as we sat down next to her. I could sense a magical presence emitting from her, a warm and comforting presence I was sure I'd felt before- somewhere, somehow.
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'It's always a pleasure to take everything in on the first day of the new semester, don't you think?' She inquired.
I nodded. My eye fell on a shimmering pendant around her neck, a frivolous "H" adorned on the cold silver.
I shook my head before I would find myself entranced again. 'I- uh-' Looking for words, it came to me that I hadn't introduced myself yet. 'My name is Ehrynn Frostthorn.'
'I know.' She smiled at me.
'You do?'
A cough interrupted our little chat before she could answer. The three of us looked up to see the highly raised eyebrows and pressed together lips belonging to Stirling.
The brown haired woman just smiled and tilted her head, staring at her with eyes wide open. She even made a questioned sound. 'What seems to be the matter?'
A hint of irritation came through in Stirling's voice as she asked: 'Aren't you supposed to give a speech right about now?'
Anthea and I looked at each other. I formed the word "Speech?" with my mouth, she just laughed silently behind her hand.
Still smiling, the lady stood up and, as she let her teacup float after her, answered: 'Oh, I suppose so. Guess I should get going then. I am the headmistress, after all.' She paused for a second just to giggle. 'You girls just make yourself comfortable here. No need to stress yourself in a crowd, dear.' She winked at me.
I stared in utter amazement as she made her way past Stirling to the middle of the Hall. 'How does she- Wait, were we just talking to headmistress Faewood?'
An didn't even try to cover up her laughter anymore. 'Yup.'
Stirling let out a deep, heavy sigh and burrowed her face in her hand afterwards. She waited 'till the woman had passed her and lowered her voice to a whispering level, as if she was speaking to herself rather than us: 'If I weren't around to keep things in check here at the Academy, nothing would ever get done even remotely on time, now, would it?'
~✿~
'Dear fairies and fairies-to-be, my name is Elowen Faewood and as headmistress of this school I welcome you all to Arthyrell Academy for fairies and Magic.' was the opening line to the lady's speech.
The entire Hall had filled itself with chattering young fairies at that point, but the noises soon faded as Faewood began her speech. Admittedly, I was very glad not to have to stand in the crowd since my hands had already been trembling as we arrived- though almost imperceptibly- and it had only gotten worse as more students gathered.
Anthea took my hand and squeezed it softly. 'You're doing great, sweetie.' She whispered.
Faewood waited for the buzz to fade. She cleared her throat and continued:
'Ahum- In order to graduate from the Academy, one must follow a course we call the "Path of Blossoming". Now, I know what you are thinking- you've only just arrived and this weird lady here calling herself the headmistress is already talking about your graduation, but let me just run you through some important things.-
'The journey towards becoming a Major Fairy takes up the first three courses of your Path. These three courses are subsequently divided by Determination, Courage and Reflection, whereas the courses that follow, although optional, focus on Guidance and Sacrifice. They lead you down the road to become an Ethereal Fairy- though I do realize that's something I shouldn't keep you busy with right now, as I'm sure you'll find out about all of this soon enough.' A half suppressed laugh followed, I believe she found it all quite amusing.
'Anyway,' she continued, 'what I really want to be talking about is the very first course- the course of Determination- since that is the course you'll be entering now.-
'Over the... uhm... course of the past few weeks, you have all received your Invitations to enter the Path of Blossoming. However, in order to do so you must pass an event we call "the Initiation".' Another wave of chatter forced her to take a short break. 'Now, I know this may sound scary to some of you, but believe me when I tell you this is only to get you acquainted with your fairy partner. You need not worry about potential dangers, this is not an exam and Stirling and I will be monitoring you every step along the way.-
'Now, enough with the boring talk. Please follow us outside.' She made a small gesture Stirling's way and let her take over.
'All right, if you all would be so kind as to place your luggage here and follow me-'
