The world blinked.
They were within the rainforest one instant. The next, they were somewhere else dry, motionless, and quiet.
Reese lurched. His boots landed hard against stone instead of mud. Cold clean air tasted different, with a hint of moisture in the air somehow as though an invisible breeze had rocked it up. Before him a broad cobbled street stretched, bordered by pale trees with silver leaves. No wind was blowing and yet their trunks rattled with sound. The leaves shone like a reflection of some invisible light and each of the leaves hummed very quietly like a lost song of music that no one had listened to in centuries.
They emerged from the silver woods into the open sky.
Before them loomed the Academy of Armathane, a carved fortress in the middle of a city of spires. Tower over tower of golden sunset stone rose to the sky, each capped with glyphs that shone like stars. Curved bridges arched between them. Waterfalls cascaded from tier to tier in grand steps.
The earth at Reese's feet throbbed with potential.
He gasped. "This is the academy?"
"A crucible," replied Caspian. "Some to conquer themselves. Others, to destroy what they fear. Most don't survive, but for one week, it won't challenge you. Until then, you're free."
"Free to do what?"
"Whatever you like. Walk the grounds, say hello to the other Initiates or shut yourself in a room and weep." Caspian sneered. "You've worked hard enough to shatter a little bit."
The gate rose before us enormous, rune carved, and radiating when looked at too steadily.
Inside, the grounds appeared to pulse with life. Lanterns floated in the air. Corridors wound without beginning or end. Strangers flowed past dozens, perhaps hundreds, each more outlandish than the last.
A woman with mismatched eyes. One gold and one glassy white strode by, spirits dancing around her like stars. Behind them came a boy with curling horns, slitted eyes, and a twitching feline tail. Two other students drifted above, carried on secret magic.
"What are they?" Reese asked, eyes wide.
"Her with the spirits? A Spirit Mage. Her eye lets her see worlds and boundaries." Caspian waved in another direction. "The one with horns is a Beast Mage. Their magic transforms them over and over again without them even being able to say no."
They passed by a person who have skin so pale that look like someone who have completly drained of blood, there's also another person who have red skin jump with the air as his foothold on the sky.
They strolled under a weeping blue sap tree. A book flew over them, its pages fan shaped like wings of feathers. A boy screamed at his image in a mirror, one that clearly did not like him.
"There are rules," Caspian said. "No dueling off official grounds. No channeling in the library. And don't go into the South Wing at night."
"What's in the South Wing?"
"Remnants," Caspian said.
Worthless, Reese did not ask more.
They go into a building and went to the second floor. They arrived before a door marked with 22.
"This is your room for the week. Meals will be provided. The walls do have ears, so don't swear at them." He waited a moment. "Orientation is seven days from now. You are an Initiate until then. Nothing more, memorize as much as you can."
Reese flinched. "Will you be here?"
"Somewhere."
And with that, Caspian was lost, gone in the night, engulfed by the shadow.
Reese came in.
The room was simple. Soft light glowed from unseen candles. A wardrobe held one corner. A desk stood against the wall, its quill quivering when his hand passed close to it. A window opened onto the academy campus.
He stepped on the wooden floor with a groan. He approached the bed, and stopped.
Someone had been here previously.
On the bed were several items. Folded clothes, arranged with care. Most were plain, but one outfit was different: dress navy blue and gold military attire. A double breasted jacket with gold buttons and braiding on the shoulders that replicated the epaulettes of an officer of high rank. On the chest there shone a golden crest. A stylized tree with roots twirled around it, leaves spreading out into sunrays. In its background was spread out a flare of golden sunrise along a twisted horizon.
Below the blazer there are a white shirt, a black tie, and a tight fitting vest. Trousers finished off the costume, with a sparkling brooch around the collar. A thick undercoat was concealed beneath it all, adorned with silver embroidery in the heraldic crest of Armathane, a round badge woven with painstaking loveliness.
Around the waist was a small bag tied with red cord. Inside glimmered strange coins. Gold, naturally, but also metals Reese was unfamiliar with, some weakly pulsing aura.
A black, slim box was on top of the clothes.
He unlocked it and found a bracelet made of silver. Thin, sparkling and scarcely clean of ornament. At the center, a gem pulsed weakly.
At the bottom was paper that have sentences written on elegant style.
"Touch the gem, and you will possess the fundamental knowledge of the Academy."
He pulled back uncertainly, then touched the gem with a single finger.
The gentle whir hummed against his wrist. A transparent screen appeared in the air above his hand. Dozens of icons slowly spun around in a circle: Map, Schedule, Messages, and many others.
He brushed against Map. The screen reshaped itself into a stylized map of the Academy towers. His room pulsed softly on the chart.
This is the Regalia. He remembered the from a book he once read, a item that imbued with special magic to help even non-mage to be able use magic.
Reese turned the bracelet slowly on his wrist. He couldn't determine if it was a gift or a leash.
Armathane's towers shone in twilight. Lights spun across training fields. A gold dragon far out on the horizon soared through the air, a student lying comfortably upon its back.
Reese clenched his fist. The fire inside of him reordered. Silent now, as if a breath were caught just an instant longer. He would not grieve forever, but he would remember, and he would be stronger.