Welcome to Gaia! ::

[ Message temporarily off-line ]

Rust red and cream wings carried Arden to the main courtyard of the Academy. It was ever so much nicer to arrive aboard her own pegasus than like last year. Her well meaning parents had wanted to see her off on her first term in the prestigious school. They'd all flown here on the large family flying rug. It had only been after setting her things in her room and a teary farewell that she'd noticed that only the new students, and ones that didn't have an older sibling here, were naive enough to have their parents along.
After two semester's of hard work cummuilating in very good grades, she'd carefully planned what to ask for as a graduation present. To expunge her previous faux pas, this year Arden would land daintly aboard Bellisarus. She'd always wanted such a steed, and now had a practical reason for the request since he would allow her much easier conveyance to and from school on vacations. Unhooking her brocade travel bag she bade farewell for the moment to her mount, affectionately scratching him in his favorite spot just under his jaw. "Get on with you now!" she told him laughingly when he nudged her to get her to continue. "You go join the herd in the north pasture. Don't get in any trouble with the fillies either." With an amused wicker Bellisarus took wing and circled off toward where the rest of the equine companions of the students were housed.
Smiling at his antics Arden headed toward the grand hall where the staff would be holding lunch and giving out room assignments and class schedules.

Cassia had decided to take the train to get to the school campus this year...though, then again, it was what she did every year. It's not like she had access to any mythical beast, or even to a car, for that matter, and she wasn't one to attract attention by asking her manager for a ride...and, besides, it wasn't like anyone else was in her cabin, so it was quite a pleasant ride. It gave her time to think about things.

She shifted slightly in her seat, adjusting herself to look out the window. So far, she had passed large cities, green pastures, and gone underground...and now, her way to the school's campus was drawing near. The girl had made this journey several times in the past few years, but already in the middle class, her thoughts ventured to graduation, though it was still a couple of years off.

But the even bigger question on her mind: What would she do after graduating? She had acted and such before she had enrolled, but why continue with that after honing her magic skills? Of course, her manager would love it if she would come back to the agency...but....

Cassia sighed, twirling a pencil in one hand as the train slowed to her stop. Since the school was located in a spot unable to be charted on a map, and she had no other way of getting to the school, a small, unsuspecting shop was set up with a doorway that led to the school grounds. And what's more, the door only led to the campus if that's what one's earnestly seeking for.

Rolling her trunk behind her, she turned down several alleyways and streets before entering a tiny inn, greeting the barkeep, and entering another door...which opened into the main hall, in which things were prepared for the opening ceremony.

The call of the train in the distance hurried Arden to find a seat before the new arrivals came to fill the hall as they made their way across the campus or through the portals from the world of the untalented nulls. The whistles had specially enchanted for the day to carry over the veil so teachers would know when to expect influxes of students.
Some seats here and there were vacant. Arden placed herself in one not so far forward as to be grouped with the teachers pets, but not so far back as to fall in with the rowdy crowd that wished to be as geographically far from authority as it they could manage. When she spotted the unfortunate first years that were sandwiched in between proud parents, she suffered a pang of sympathy, remembering her own plight last year. Other less compassionate classmates snickered behind their hands and marked the youngsters out for future pranks.
Teachers began to file in ones and twos up on the dais at the head of the room so they could be introduced later by the headmaster. Arden was familiar with most from last year so she waited, eager for the schedule-parchments to be conjured so she'd know what her class and dorm assignments were.

Alone and waiting for the last students to enter, Arden mourned the fact that her two closest friends from last year had not returned to the academy. One wished to stay home to help her mother who'd been in an accident. Attending a local school she could help take care of her better. The other had never really wished to attend. She'd said the pressure here was too much. Not wanting to be left behind, she'd applied to stay with the other two. After having worn herself out with worry over keeping up her grades, she decided not to return for a second year.
Arden knew a few other people here and there a bit, but by and large had been too busy with courses to socialize much outside her immediate circle. She'd have to meet more people this year, in spite of how hard the professors worked her.

((It's terrible short, but the inspiration is sluggish tonight, sorry.))

The room seemed to grow chill despite the temperate warmth of the early autumn day and the crowds of students. Arden tucked away the quill she'd been doodling with and looked about for what could have caused the sudden cold. As her gaze passed the dais, her eyes met those of Prof. Ryoto. His stare was intent, and seemed focused on her. Arden couldn't imagine what she'd done to be noticed by the single most fearsome instructor on campus. Just before the scrutiny verged over the boundary between uncomfortable to alarming he turned away.
The girl tried to remember if she'd selected any classes that he taught when she'd picked her elective preferences last year. If he was already decided that she was some how faulty, it would be a long term with him as a teacher.
He was known for culling out what he deemed weak students, breaking their nerve and sending them home. He never did anything that would draw the censor of the school authorities, Ryoto was subtle as well as cruel, or so the rumor was whispered around the dorm common rooms.
The Headmaster began his usual welcome speech to the new students. Arden pretended to listen, relieved to have any distraction.

Despite some crashing off stage the speeches and introduction went on with out a hitch. Wrapping up with a bow the Headmaster Ringma gave a causal flourish of his hand and each student had an inscribed scroll, each grade wrapped in a different colored ribbon, appear on their laps.
One boy, a final year student known for playing up to the instructors and trying to be a teacher's pet had jumped up to applaud at the end of the speech. His scroll bounced off his head, causing general amusement and laughter. Ringma didn't play favorites. His respect was only garnered by merit of a student's ability to handle their element.

Arden undid the blue ribbon marking her as being in the middle grade. The curlicue indigo ink spelled out her future learning.

It was astounding! Not one, but two classes with the dreaded Prof. Ryoto. Arden didn't want to start the school year out in tears but this was a disaster. There was no procedure for altering ones classes under normal circumstance. Only if it was a teachers request could a student alter their schedule. The school was simply too full to switch around students with out causing problems. Besides, students were supposed to have picked classes they could handle, if they couldn't that was their own fault.
Arden couldn't remember precisely, but she believed that she'd taken Magical Theory not Dark Arts She'd been planning on waiting to take that until her final year.
In the end, she'd just have to manage some how. Involuntarily, she glanced with trepidation up at where the gathered teachers congregated. Though she couldn't spot Prof. Ryoto the girl still felt as if someone had dropped a chunk of ice down her spine. Shivering she was one of the first group to rise and escape toward their dorm assignments.
At least she been lucky with the housing assignments. Her papers told her that she'd be in room 53 of the Celeste tower, a lovely gothic building. With a number that high, she might even be on the top floor. That would have meant a lot of stairs last year, but middle students were authorized to use feather-float spells to allow them to ascend and descend the taller buildings on campus.
As she made crossed the campus from the assembly hall and whispered the chant to rise to the upper balcony entrance of the Celeste tower, Arden wondered who would be rooming with her this year.

The speech was of course boring for it was pretty much the same every year. However, somehow, Ringma was able to make it a little interesting; not only was he talented magic-wise but he had a way of wooing the mind with words. As his eyes rolled across the students sitting across from him for probably the one hundreth time, a sudden crash immediately brought his gaze away from the students and towards the noise. Curious, but not wanting to be noticed, the Dark elementalist stared at the curtain intensly, meaning to conjure a spell that would allow him to see through it. The curtain itself was bright red and was actually quite thick, protected with a certain spell that one of the high magi's created created, but he could easily counter it, for even though he was young and just a teacher, he was much more powerful than they. As he stared at the curtain, he invisioned the way it was embroided; he focused on every stitch and design, trying to fight his way through it. Then finally, in his mind, a black flame appeared and burnt a hole through its finery, allowing him to find what he was looking for, revealing to Ryoto who the person was that created the din. "Ken...? So, you are now a teacher... interesting..."

Slowly now, still not wanting to be noticed, Ryoto turned back to face the audience not that his "mission" was complete. However, it was not fully successful, for he felt that a pair of eyes were upon him. He did not even have to look to know who was looking upon him; it was Ringma, the professor of the school. He was always too curious. Always tried to know more than he could handle. But by that time, the meeting had already ended and everyone was beginning to disperse. As the students made their way to their rooms, Ryoto's purple eyes spotted Ken, one of his only "friends"; he was his best student even though he did not major in his element, but he stilled favorted him above all the rest. With oozing smooth movements, the teacher slithered towards Ken until he stood right behind him. "So, you are now a teacher? Since when?" His tone, even though it sounded eeri and unnerving, was the kindest it would probably be for the rest of the year...