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With the beginning of a new year at Stellvallia Academy, the sun was shining bright in the sky as wagons and other transportation travelled down the roads converging at the main gate. The snow from last winter was all but gone, and as always, spring was the birth of new opportunities for the up and coming as well as returning veterans of the school. In the main courtyard, the student council were busy deliberating and organising the new arrivals, getting everything unloaded, registering applications, assigning dorms and rooms to those who needed it, as well as gathering together anyone who needed a formal tour. In the case of the students that remained on campus over the holidays, most all were usually roped into assisting in some form. That was what Fillia found herself involved in, the young knight steadily pacing the courtyard as she eyed over the proceedings, supervising and providing security.

It was always interesting seeing how different the two facets of the academy could be. On the one side, the mages tended to be more fantastical in their unpacking and arrival. Although many kept it simple with traditional carriages, plenty were more than ready to use magic to assist them in the manual labour. Portals, teleportation, golems, levitation… There were so many forms of magic with so much utility, and no doubt that, despite having wildly more elaborate contraptions and items to bring with them, the Mage academy would get through their arrivals far more quickly. Provided it all went to plan, that is. They tended to be a bit more disorganised, and given the majority of new arrivals were still novices-

Some mildly panicked cries filled the air as a golem unintentionally broke another student’s bag, that same student losing their focus on their levitation spell and sending a number of personal affects into the sky. Faintly, she could hear some arguing, but it wasn’t worth getting into. Her job was to look after her fellow knights, and she planned to do just that. Whether a point of pride, or perhaps to prevent micro-disasters like what was occurring on the opposite side of the courtyard, students of the Knight Academy would take their own luggage. It was physically draining, but anyone who couldn’t handle some flights of stairs with their personal baggage probably wasn’t going to last long as a knight.

Although today was formally the start of the educational year, there wouldn’t be any real drills or anything. Students needed time to get settled into their rooms, but there were a few opening speeches and such. Aside from that, people were free to explore the facilities, and some of the clubs would start spruiking for new members all through the afternoon up until the Grand Feast in the evening. Now that was something to be present for. Not only was there great food, but both sides of the school would get more of a chance to intermingle. Typically, that would lead to a few ‘traditions’ at Stellvallia, her personal favourite being the eating contest amongst the newcomers to the Knight Academy. Hazings could be particularly cruel, as anyone foolish enough to go for the trophy would find themselves in awful shape for the drills early tomorrow. Smirking at the thought, Fillia remained at the main gates, welcoming students back and helping make sure that the correct students went to the correct administration.

And then, there was one boy who walked down the road with a bit of an energetic jump in his step. Wearing a white, short sleeve hooded jacket, a white pair of shorts with golden colored trimmings, some sturdy white boots, two daggers sheathed at his sides, and a rod on his back, there was no way he could be mistaken as a knight. His frame was small, he was clearly free spirited and amazed with wonder, and clearly full of creative energy. He was practically enthralled by the place in front of him, the secrets it held, the adventurers he could have, the fact that he could try out a new spell he was creating, "Nova Spark", without potentially burning down a forest! That would be fantastic!

Yes, Kota was that kind of person. He was the natural genius that also worked hard, but also a bit of a scatterbrain in the essence he could be very whimful. He put in the effort not just because, but despite his natural talent, not out of some desperation for work or to be the best, but because he enjoyed magic. He enjoyed creating new spells, coming up with new ideas, testing and exploring the deepest depths. He had a scholar's curiosity, an adventurer's spirit, and a knights stubbornness. A potentially disastrous combination, or a brilliant one.

But at the moment...he was spinning, and spinning. Not from magic, but he was actually spinning himself around as he was approaching campus. And then, around Filla...he finally fell over and collapsed to the ground. But rather then be annoyed or frusterated as most might, he just in a carefree fashion laughed it off. Even though it looked like it was kind of a rough landing, and he did not have the frame for it, it appeared he at least had some endurance.

"Awww, man" Kota said as he laughed it off, helping himself up and dusting himself off. "I guess I got the calculations wrong. I was so certain I had it that time. A spell to stop me from getting dizzy and falling over from just that amount of spinning. It would be nice if I could use other's data to help, but these spells...they are always specific to the individual. Their height, weight, reaction times, natural balance levels, skin condition. Still, if I can figure it out, and then use the measurements as a baseboard...maybe even if it would only be fully effective on myself, I could at least make one that would be semi effective on others.".

Yes, all of that spinning was part of an experiment. An anti-dizziness spell experiment, and he had only just walked onto campus. He had been traveling. That was the sort of free spirit he was. And something like an Anti-dizziness spell did seem hard. Just like how anti-disease spells were hard, since each one had to be individually crafted and figured out for each disease, and calibrated for each sick person's body. Well, no, actually an Anti-Dizziness spell would be easier, less factors, but the point still stood.

So as Kota stood up, he noticed there was someone there who looked like she was helping people.

"Excuse me, do you know where I can find the Mage Side Offices and Dorms?" Kota asked her as he finished recovering from his dizziness. It seemed his spell was at least somewhat successful.

When the small boy fell to the ground, Fillia had to resist the urge to immediately step in. After all, it was somewhat nearby her, and she was trying her best to look after the students. She didn’t recognize the young boy, and at that age, he certainly had to be an initiate. Still, despite wanting to be of assistance, he seemed to be fine as he was quickly back to his feet, a few students walking around him and giving some odd looks. Peering closer, she noticed the presence of a weapon on his person now that his back was to the school. Was he a knight then? Thinking this through to herself, Fillia made her way over, stopping briefly to assist a pair of twin girl knights who seemed a bit lost. “Check ins for initiates is at the table just there. Speak with Yosuke, he should be able to assign you to a room. If you intend on sharing a room, you’ll need to ask for an application.” Gesturing over to the somewhat small queue, new knights were quickly falling into line and moving along at a steady pace. It paid to be organized, and the rest of the student council on the Knight Side of the academy were very reliable.

As the two made their way past Fillia, giggling about something or other, the young boy now made his way over to her, seemingly recovered from his spill. Taking a moment to appraise him, Fillia was always amazed by the talents the new generation could bring. It seemed that every year they were getting younger. Smiling as pleasantly as she could muster, she nodded simply, gesturing to the eastern side of the courtyard. “The Eastern side of the school is for the mage academy. Although…” Fillia looked to the spectacle of signups on the other side, the disorder quite apparent as more collisions and spells were going off. Did they have a registration area for new initiates? Honestly, they could be so hopeless sometimes. Absent-minded was perhaps the better term. Still, Fillia had a keen eye for detail, and soon enough, she was able to spot out a couple of members of the Mage Academy’s student council attempting to bring about order.

First of note was Reverie Jones; an illustrious individual and the longtime president of the student council, having been elected for 5 years running. She was well liked among the students both for her attractive physique, and her compassion for everyone at the academy. Truly, the school was blessed to have her, though rumour was that she planned to graduate this year and return to her homeland. Hopefully future elections would promote someone of her caliber and understanding – collaboration between the two sides of the academy had been better than ever, and that was largely in part to her advocating for both sides to work together. She truly embodied the school’s values, and constantly opposed any discrimination. Hopefully her good work wouldn’t be undone when she left. Watching the elven woman a few moments longer, Fillia could already see she was hard at work coordinating the show, though it wasn’t easy given how ineffectual everyone else seemed. Probably not the person to send an initiate right now.

Next to catch Fillia’s attention was Ro Dulain, one of the members she didn’t really respect as much. He’d been on the council for the past three years, and though he was quick with his tongue, something about him rubbed her the wrong way. He was pretty powerful as far as mages went though, so it wasn’t surprising that the combination of those two features lead him to a position. His primary magic was pretty unique, he had a penchant for being able to swap objects of similar properties, or to swap the properties of two different objects near instantaneously. Still, despite Fillia’s misgivings about him, he was doing quite a job getting students to the right place, swapping positions of mages to get them into the correct queue. Why did he have to seem so smug about it though?

Still, watching how he organized the students helped Fillia to spot what she needed. Tiffy Whysteria seemed to be in charge of the initiates, the cat eared woman not the brightest of mages, but at the very least she was friendly and had enthusiasm. Though she was floundering in the paperwork, Fillia had nothing but admiration for someone who pushed themselves outside of their comfort zone in order to improve. Satisfied she could appropriately direct the boy, Fillia gestured with her hand. “See that woman at the desk over there? Tiffy seems to be in charge of Mage Initiates, so try to move into line there and see her.” As Fillia finished directing the boy before her, she remembered the instructions she'd been given by the knight council, and gave a simple salute with her arm to her chest. "Do the Academy proud young man. I wish you luck."

A yawn was belted amidst the noise of students flooding the entrance hall. Some students looked to see an older woman scratching an itch underneath her clean robes with one hand. Unlike the comparatively prim and proper Riverie Jones and Tiffy Whysteria, Lin looked as if she stayed up all of last night on some project, given her sunken, unfocused eyes and her perpetual frown. If not for her official garb and the staff she leaned on and gripped with her armpit, not many would imagine she was, in fact, a long-time student. It also didn’t help that she was wearing a pair of bunny slippers.

In her other hand, she carried a plain and featureless mug, not unlike the ones often available in town. Visible steam could be seen wafting from the mug as she rose it and took a sip. “Hurnnh,” She groaned at the bitter taste. She wasn’t exactly fond of coffee without anything, but she didn’t exactly have enough time to prepare something more pleasant. “Forgot about these students returning… all the new students and that orienting crap… Feh…” She took another deep sip of her coffee as she continued muttering to herself. “I got work to do, but orders are orders, I guess…”

A series of clicks and whirrs emitted in response, as a mess of metal scraps, stones and wood coiled around her shoulder and steadied itself along the staff. A single large crystalline head, caged in a tight-fitting silver tiara with a sapphire set in the centre, seemed to shift in colour as the creature glanced among the other golems. Many of the golems looked straight out of a textbook, very unlike this completely different… creature… Perhaps it was a good thing Lin never aspired to be on the student council, although they have approached her many times for various tasks.

“Jealous, Mesa?” Lin asked without looking. Mesa hissed, and his long, multi-jointed tail flicked around. There was no weapon attached to it, but the tip of the tail was rounded akin to a very dull spike. Lin released her grip on her mug, which continued to hang in mid-air as she rubbed her eye with her now-free hand.

“The sun’s too bright…” she grumbled as the sunbeams from the windows washed warmly over her. Mesa responded with a series of clicks, then a puff of magical energy spat out from underneath its uneven shoulder plates, made from some kind of alloy. Lin took a deep breath of the strange mist-like presence, and felt a slight boost in energy. It was enough to make her aware of her sloppy stance- which she promptly straightened. “I know it’s not the Sun’s fault,” Lin retrieved the mug once more and took a deep sip. “Fifteen minutes, come on now…” The coffee slowly began to take effect as her body processed the nutrients. Between the caffeine and the magical stamina boost provided by Mesa, Lin finally felt somewhat awake.

Mesa readied himself to hop down, but Lin scratched the back of the crystalline head. “Now now, I know you’re excited, but this is strictly business. Let’s let the newbies get comfortable first, yeah?”

Whatever sound the creature emitted could only be described as a purr from hell’s neighbour. Lin smiled under her otherwise tired expression. Lin yawned once more, and continued watching from her position within the entrance hall, partway up a flight of stairs so as to get a view on everything coming and going. Her staff had an unusual bauble attached to the head by a series of tightened hemp ropes. Those familiar with the bauble would know it contained exactly what one would need just in case some of the excitement somehow turned to violence.

“I am glad I at least made that breakthrough…” Lin sighed with a wistful smile, “We’ll test that prototype after lunch. How’s that sound, Mesa?” Mesa seemed positively ecstatic.

“Oh... I’m wearing my bunny slippers again…” Lin just realised. After a pause, she shrugged and took another sip.

As Kota listened to the woman talk, he could not help but notice her gaze and body language. She was clearly observant, he could tell that much easily. But from what he followed, it appeared she was able to talk and interact with people while making eye contact, or at least appearing like it, while also taking note of the background. He was very impressed by this, but also she seemed nice to talk to.

He did make sure to check his luggage though, to make sure everything was in place. The two daggers at each side, and there was also a foldable rod there as well. At least, it looked like a rod. Perhaps it was a staff? He also had a backpack on his back, but no other luggage could be seen.

"Ah, thank you!" Kota replied, as he gave her a big smile. "I heard getting lost on the first day could be really troublesome!"

With his introduction done, he started to make his way towards the Mage Desk...when he suddenly tripped again.

"Ooops. You should be more careful if you trip so easily" another knight said as he moved his spear so he was carrying it with two hands. Kota had not seen anything, but it was fairly clear what had really happened there. As he stood back up, and wiped the dirt off his face, he considered all hte possibilities. Ultimately, for now, to not make a scene on his first day...

"Ahg?!" the knight exclaimed as the ground under him shifted ever so slightly. Fun fact about removing and adding heat. It causes compression and expansion, depending on which you do. Either way, the knight seemed to fall to the ground due to the ground apparently being a bit unstable.

Normally, Kota would prefer to deal with things directly, but his mom mentioned that avoiding to make any scenes on the first day was a good idea. Therefore, he tried to casually walk away from the matter without getting caught up in anything. Therefore, he made his way towards the Mage's front desk. And so, he walked up to the black haired woman who was standing at the front desk.

"Excuse me, miss?" Kota asked her, as she was interracting with some sort of unique golem next to her. "I am one of the new students here at the Academy. My name is Kota, Kota Kotari. Could you tell me what I need to know, like where I can find my dorm room and such?"

A few other mages seemed to take notice of him, many of them with mischevous smiles, but Kota didn't seem to notice, or mind. He just seemed to be all smiles and sunshine.

“My, look at them all scurrying about.” A certain individual spoke to himself from the upper floor window of his study, eying the courtyard with a degree of amusement. “There’s just something fascinating about watching the masses. Ever ignorant of anything but their own small little world.” Taking a moment to finish the final points on his proposal, Treyton Ventner stretched liberally, before sliding his seat back and standing. With a faint wave of his hand, a small, diamond like structure came to rest in his palm, the man briefly admiring his reflection before the image in the crystal changed, revealing a view of the inner lobby of the main entrance hall. Satisfied that the position was clear, Treyton muttered a set of words, three more crystals forming in front of him in a triangle formation before widening, a crackle of pink and purple energy between them as they formed a portal.

At the entrance hall, another set of three crystals that had been floating about stopped and immediately came together. Once again, they formed a triangle before widening to create Treyton’s exit, the mage instantaneously passing from his room to the ground floor. Doing his best to ignore the chatter and commotion of the scene, Treyton made his way down the stairs, making his way towards the courtyard. As a Master grade student, his presence was required to greet students and help ensure things ran smoothly. Aside from himself, there were numerous other denizens of the dorms that would have been recruited, and although he had hoped to leave such menial work to the rabble, they’d consistently proved themselves unreliable at best. For example…

“Ah, Lin. Good to see you’re organised and dressed for the occasion.” Treyton commented with some sarcasm as he came up behind her, eying up her choice of attire, along with the junk heap on her shoulder. Crude as it was, he’d witnessed firsthand that it was surprisingly durable, and as much as Treyton had his doubts about Lin’s character, there was no denying her enchantments could be effective. Still, she could afford to be less slovenly. Not everyone had to reach his standards of presentation (A white suit wasn’t something many people could pull off), but at the very least she could try to look like she hadn’t just climbed out of bed.

“To be frank, I’m surprised that the student council convinced you to assist with something like this. Given your propensity for mischief, and the all-around gullibility of the new students, I would imagine that they’re inviting another disaster.” Sighing as he watched a couple of the larger golems bumping into each other, Treyton extended his hand, a quintet of diamond flying over and putting themselves between the golems and the wall, bouncing them back from taking a chunk out of a nearby pillar. Satisfied that he’d done the job well enough, Treyton muttered another spell, a swarm of the diamonds forming in the air and darting about the entrance hall, generally moving and searching for any danger of property damage and attempting to intervene. Hopefully that would be enough to prevent any further mishaps.

---

Fillia watched the young boy make his way over the mage side of the courtyard, raising a a brow as she observed the altercation between him and some of the rowdier new recruits. Hopefully they’d learn some humility in their time at the academy, as there was no need for such boorish behaviour. “Hey, you two. If you’re done falling over yourself, get in line to register.” Fillia commanded the two and immediately they were apologetic, giving a quick salute and running off to get into position in the queue.

Meanwhile, Kota seemed to miss his direction from Fillia, his enthusiasm leading him past the sign up desk with Tiffy and straight into the entrance hall, which was abuzz with activity, small, diamond like crystals flying every which way. Soon enough, he’d approached someone who looked senior enough, and asked Lin about the dorm rooms and the like.

Lin gave Treyton a sweet smile to match the man’s obvious sarcasm. Nobles typically didn’t bother her- as they were the primary source of income for people like her and her family, but there were certain ones who could stand to not have eyes that seemed to see only cockroaches. It was a universal truth that without magic, mages were nothing. Additionally, Lin never felt like Treyton necessarily liked her, nor the products of her particular specialties.

At the very least, Mesa seemed to regard Treyton like a cat would regard a rich man’s dog. Whatever the opinion Mesa really had, even the most curious of cats weren’t stupid enough to get close. Lin’s scratching at the back of the crystalline head also ensured the familiar wouldn’t cause any trouble. After all, there was plenty already to watch out for, and plenty of more important things than to harass Treyton.

“Silly me,” Lin replied warmly, but with the faintest of sharpness in her tone, “Pulling an all-nighter again like a proper student.” She had barely gotten two hours of sleep, and woken up not even half an hour ago. While she stood there, watching kids go through the usual first day hoops, there was something immensely important laying on her desk back in her dorm room. A prototype with far greater potential than any of her previous works byfar. She kept a cool exterior, but her eyes definitely held that odd air of impatience.

Still, Treyton was her senior, and he was quite aware of her antics. Some call it stress-relieving, others call it tests to keep a fellow mage or knight trainee on their toes. To Lin Felwinter, they were always harmless prototypes. Throughout her entire time at the academy, she had never been in any trouble over the things she pulled on her fellow students of all ages. When Treyton spoke frankly, Lin wasn’t entirely bothered. It seemed he didn’t know that she was asked last week because she was among the only students of her seniority who had remained at school during their time off.

Despite the warning, Lin was wholly focused with her work. After all, with little disturbance around the past month and change, there was a lot she could get done without being disturbed. As she watched the diamonds zip by and perform their swift tasks, Lin rolled her eyes out of Treyton's sight. It was a waste of perfectly good diamonds to perform what a polished marble could easily do with less mana. If she had access to so many diamonds, she’d have made something even better than what she was waiting to return to. “I take it your summer was enriching as always?” She asked more out of obligation before taking a long sip to finish her coffee. “Mine too.” As she spoke, Lin wordlessly waved a finger. The mug- suddenly clean- was kept close with two fingers wrapped around the grip.

A boy then approached, one with bright orange hair and bright orange eyes and a bright, possibly also orange personality. She regarded the small boy with a stoic, knowing smile to barely hide her fatigue. One of the new kids, it seemed. The first of many this year, perhaps? Lin hoped that these new arrivals were at least better at elaborating their feedback than the newbies of last semester. “Pleasure to meet you, Kota Kotari, I’m Lin Felwinter, and this here is Treyton Ventner,” She gestured aside towards Treyton, but continued on. “Have you retrieved a room key from Tiffy over there? We can’t lead you to your quarters if you can’t enter your room, after all.” She smiled not unkindly, ”We can head straight there once you pick it up.”

As Kota found his way to the desks, it seemed he had somehow gotten lost in all the shenanigans. He was sure he had pointed himself towards the front desk he was told to go to though...had he fallen for some mis-direction magic without noticing? Or did he just get so captivated he lost his path? He was not quite sure...either way, it seemed interesting. Maybe the structure of the building itself had some sort of allurement, or path disorientation? Maybe the entire school was actually the center of a giant magic circle, formulated for some sort of purpose?

Well, Kota quickly remembered where he was, and stopped himself in his tracks. However, he certainly seemed energetic and eager, and maybe just innocent. "Ah, sorry. Nice to meet you both! Hold on a sec...I was so sure I was heading there a moment ago..."

He quickly ran back, in order to get a Room Key. After all, he really wanted to make sure he could unpack. Although his backpack seemed simple enough, his father had made it for him. Thankfully, it seemed like no one was going out of their way to prank him this time, so he was able to settle up with relative ease.

With that, getting the room key was simple enough, and he was able to return to Lin quickly.

"Got it!" he said as he showed it. To make sure he didn't lose it though, he weaved a bit of magic thread around it and around his arm to keep them connected. Magic Thread was basically the beginner of beginner magics, used to help train form, shape, and concentration, but there were plenty of reasons to use it as well. "Ah right. Also, are the baths going to be a part of the dorms, or is there some sort of seperate bathhouse, or what? Also, is there a map? Or do the hallways reconfigure and such making that impossible? Do new portals sometimes appear? I hear you have gateways to all sorts of things here!"

Treyton gave an overembellished gesture to Lin’s small talk, rolling his hand as he often did while recalling details. “Enriching is one way you could describe it. So much more can be achieved without the distractions of the ignorant, and especially the brutish yelling of those knights with their morning drills.” Watching Lin sip her drink, Treyton decided to continue to fill the air with some talk. After all, he was in a good mood, and such a feeling would likely pass if he was unable to brag about his accomplishments. “I’ve been working on a new proposal that should shake up the mundane atmosphere and inject a bit more life and purpose into the curriculum. I’m confident it will be met with a positive reception from those that matter, so look forward to hearing more of it.”

Treyton had considered going into the specifics of his plan, but at that moment, they were interrupted by a newcomer student. Lin was polite enough to perform their introductions, and was surprisingly helpful in directing the young lad. Nodding to the boy as he headed off, Treyton turned back to Lin, giving a simple wave as he made his way past and down the stairs. “My thanks to you Lin for handling such chores. Take your time finding where to take him, I’ll handle things here in your absence.” Bowing graciously as he made his exit, Treyton could vaguely hear the sounds of the boy’s return and him bombarding Lin with questions. New students were so disorganised. Most of the information he sought could easily have been found with some simple prior research. There were a set of shared baths for each of the dorms, divided by gender naturally. As for maps, they were helpful for knowing the general location of the main buildings, but really, any aspiring mage would be better off memorising the school layout then relying on something so primitive. The majority of the complex was set in stone, but there were some areas closer to leylines or the boundaries of dimensions that were in a state of flux. New portals were rare, but usually it was more a matter that another hidden room was found or someone created a portal rather than something spontaneously coming out of nowhere. Honestly, the rabble were getting more and more pathetic each year. Where was their independence that the school so desperately tried to give them?

Of course, they’d have to learn to master their talents and prove their capability if they wanted to stay here. Smirking, Treyton continued on his way outside to speak with Reverie. Change was on the horizon.

---

Tiffy Whysteria was a member of the Mage’s student council. She was cute, short, and always trying her best. Unfortunately for her though, she was also quite clumsy, and at times, forgetful and easily distracted. Not the most reliable traits for someone with plenty of paperwork, but she was determined to improve herself, which was why she’d volunteered to handle dorm assignments and room keys for newcomer students. Flustered by the rate of newcomers and all the different jobs she had to handle, it was inevitable that she made some mistakes. When Kota had bamboozled her by coming from inside the building to request a key, she’d been so focused on seeming informed and capable that she’d floundered up the first key she could find. What she didn’t realise was that she’d just given him the spare key the office normally kept for emergencies. Room 117 had already been assigned, and as Tiffy began to note down Kota’s name in the space on her spreadsheet, her expression faltered. Ohhhhh, she’d made a mistake! Reverie was going to have her head! No no, she could handle this. No one KNEW she made a mistake, right? A mischievous glint in her eye, and a Cheshire grin crossing her lips, the girl began noting down the details for a shared accommodation. Nobody had to know~