His Hand In The Shadows

Chapter 2: Advance

The accepted students gathered in the village square. The hundreds of young adults from Belcrest were divided between Aeron, Zaire and Orhem Academy. With the highest percentage of nobility, Orhem Academy accepted just three students from Belcrest: Ayla, Eris and Nash.

Family and friends came to see the students off on their journey before sunrise as it would take over a day to walk to all their respective destinations. Aeron was located in the south and Zaire was located in the country's capital, Grecel.

Grecel's skies were infested with soaring kestrels under the scorching sun. Military members rode on the back of these large birds throughout the country while guards remained behind castle walls. Warriors kept close to the borders as a defense against incoming invaders. Street patrol watched the streets from above and from ground, searching for trouble among citizens.

Grecel was no stranger to crime or war. It was a hard choice to pick—being the closest to the village with success rates higher than Aeron while still being the victim of constant attack. The group divided into three when they reached Grecel. Kai and the Zaire students continued deeper into a Grecel while Aeron students went south.

Orhem Academy was located just north of Grecel, away from the noise of the capital. The castle walls bordered Grecel and formed a route to Orhem. The castle grounds formed a circle in the landscape where all fourteen main routes emanated from.

The trio made it to Orhem just before day break. They were able to complete their registration and receive their uniforms and class schedules. Commoners kept to themselves in small groups since nobility was the majority at Orhem. They were drenched in sweat from walking hours and even days to reach Orhem.

"How putrid?" The nobles looked on in disgust. "I wouldn't put my servant in attire so unbecoming." They turned their noses up at the aprons they wore over their skirts to hide the holes underneath. Social hierarchy was no question at Orhem.

"I am Zayd, 2nd year student. I will be guiding your tour." He wore a ring over his fingerless gloves with a lion's head engraved into it. This was the symbol of one of three great noble houses in Norlyn. His blonde hair was snatched into a ponytail with a purple silk tie matching his uniform. The purple vest was drawn at the waist with a band and worn over a white long sleeved shirt with light grey pants. Students were allowed flexibility with the boots they wore, which the upper-class used to flaunt their financial worth. Zayd wore newly released white leather boots with fine purple silk woven into the front.

"Shall we begin with the first floor?" Zayd led ten students, occasionally turning around to speak. "We have over forty different training rooms of various sizes and purposes. You may use any of the open grounds. Larger grounds are solely open for tourneys during final examinations. But with the ample space available, try to keep magic usage within the perimeters of training grounds." Zayd turned facing the crowd. His eyes fixed on Ayla. The group continued walking the halls. Doors led to training rooms and classrooms on both sides of the hallway. Zayd dropped his pace to walk next to Ayla. "Ayla Nkri?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir Zayd."

"Nice to finally meet you. I spoke with my professor just moments ago. My mother insists I get a tutor since I repeat her class this year, I just picked you from a list."

"Well, much appreciated, Sir Zayd," Ayla responded, acknowledging his nobility. "I was not aware that I was assigned a student so quickly."

"I can only assume you got lucky to have found me." Zayd then turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "We take the stairs to the second floor classrooms, lecture halls and labs. There you may match the room numbers to your schedules."