Darius stood quite tall for his age, just under six foot tall. His most noticeable feature was his unkempt hair, left to grow until bushy, with an afro comb stuck in it. As he stood twiddling with his hair, Sebastian made his introduction. "Pleasure to meet you, Darius", Sebastian greet," I'm Sebas-". "Yeah, sure, you're Regulus' grandson.", Darius said as he rudely cut Sebastian off. "I was told you would help me find my dorm", said Sebastian. "Oh really?", Darius kept on with a sarcastic tone, "Well Your Majesty, shall I escort you?" "Fine", replied Sebastian, shaking his head in disbelief.
Darius led Sebastian out of the Headmaster's Study, past the long corridor and soon into the main hall. Magnificent arches of stone rose out of the ground, each equally distant from each other connected above by impressive vaulted ceilings. "Behold, the Main Hall, built in the 12thCentury, under the command of Grandmaster Enoch, it stands as a haven for the righteous.", Darius explained. The walls were lined by towering statues of knights, sorcerers, and men. Beside each statue were two knights, covered from head to toe in blackened steel. At their side were exquisitely gilded weapons from longswords, maces, and axes. "The Order of Enoch stand tirelessly, protecting the halls and grounds from outside forces.", Darius continued, "Each one said to be original soldiers of Grandmaster Enoch." The pair continued walking along, soon exiting the hall.
They carried on through many other corridors, halls, and atriums before emerging out into one of the school's many grounds. The grass was kept all of the same height and the shrubbery were all immaculately kept. As they continued, Sebastian caught a glimpse of some Greenwood Elves harvesting berries and other delicious morsels. As he shamelessly stared, one of the elves looked up at him, her expressionless face peering through her brown hair that blew gently in the wind. You see, the reason the Elves' presence astonished Sebastian or any other person for that matter was because of their legend. Greenland Elves were once a superior race of Elves that were allied to the warriors of men. However, their formidable presence on the battlefield made a reputation that their enemies thought was too imposing. As a result, the Orc King alongside the forces of the nether laid siege on their wooded utopia. As a result, they now live as humble shepherds and forager, working the oddest of jobs simply to maintain their humility and fulfillment.
The two locked eyes exchanging their own mutual respect and admiration. Sebastian paced onward until he ran into the back of Darius, "I apologize!", remarked Sebastian. Darius gave no reply instead he beckoned towards a rather dilapidated door. "Why are we stopping here?" Sebastian asked. "This is where you'll be staying", replied Darius, "in the clocktower." Sebastian with a puzzled look on his face looked up at the building, only to be amazed. Towering above the campus was a yet another gothic styled building however it would not have been expected to inhabit an academy. "Turre Caelo", stated Darius, "our very own clocktower." The clock ticked away, housed in a breath-taking gothic capsule overgrown with vines. At each corner of the tower, grotesque gargoyles sat in solitude, fending off unwanted creatures and their destruction. "The clocktower stands as a reminder that time will always pass us by despite our greatest achievements and flaws.", explained Darius as he approached one of the vines covered doors.
"Well come on then!", Darius urged. Sneaking one final look of the building's exterior, Sebastian entered the base of the clocktower. The air was heavy and musty with the scent of rusted steel and rotted wood. As his eyes adjusted to the dark room, a shape took form in front of the boys. Sebastian blinked vigorously, trying to make sense of what was before him. The object in question was an elevator put in during the Victorian Era out of a donation of the Royal Society of Horology. The lift was ornately constructed, with typical Victorian style with a touch of French Filigree. Darius approached the now rusted cage and opened the shutters, a blood-curdling screech filling the hall. "You are not serious!", remarked Sebastian. "As serious as I'll ever be", replied Darius as he stepped inside. Sebastian reluctantly boarded, followed by a deep groan of iron and steel.
Darius, with a grin on his face, violently flipped the heavy power switch. There was a noticeable delay, which only heightened Sebastian's uncertainty of safety. Then suddenly, the lift jerked upward just after Darius screeched the shutters closed. The elevator continued upward for such a long time that it would have seemed to be never-ending. Soon, however, some faint clunking could have been heard. Slowly, Sebastian was presented with the beating heart of Turre, the clockwork. Gears, spindles, and drums of all sizes worked away in perfect cohesion with an almost comforting sound of mechanical accomplishment. As Sebastian observed the detail and sheer mastery in the clocks four faces, the meticulous banging of mechanical artistry immediately died out, despite being in full view. The lift continued upwards, leaving the clockwork behind, Sebastian still puzzled up to the point of destination.
The elevator groaned once more before coming to a halting stop. Darius flung the shutters open and immediately walked off, followed by an inquisitive Sebastian. Just as they arrived at yet another archway with yet another pair of exquisitely crafted doors, Sebastian overflowed, "What was that?", he asked. "What was what?", Darius replied. "The clockwork-the sound!", Sebastian investigated, "Why did it go silent?" "Well Lancaster, the clock has two fields of ambiguity. The first has to do with the gargoyles that protect the tower.", Darius explained. "And?!", urged Sebastian. Darius paused before continuing, "The second...surrounds your dorm from all sorts of unwanted guests, radiation, waves, and even farts... I've tried... and I can't smell it so I guess it works."
The pair exchange looks for a moment before breaking out into a peal of awkward laughter, each thinking that if they laughed with the other, the tension would lessen. As the laughter died down, Darius cleared his throat and approached the doors. "Now, it's important that you remember that this second has a system.", Darius explained, "A security system of sorts-that needs a passcode." "Aren't we already safe? Can't I just walk in? ", Sebastian remarked as he paced up to the door and firmly gripped the handle. Immediately, a bright sigil covered the door, followed by golden runes accompanied by a low hum. Sebastian instantly retreated, nursing his now aching hand. Darius ran forward, pulling Sebastian behind, "CEDO!", he shouted. Both the sigil and the runes disappeared along with the hum. They both breathed a sigh of relief. Darius turned his head at Sebastian, "That...would have killed us..."
Sebastian said nothing and instead returned to the doors, his arm shakily extending towards the doors. He gripped the handles and paused. After realizing that he was safe from the golden lights of death, he pushed the glorious mahogany doors open and was greeted with an all too familiar sight. As Sebastian entered the room, memories came flooding back that were all too devastating. As he paced over to the large bookshelves, repressed emotions and their aftermath quickly overwhelmed him. Sebastian's began to throb violently, he massaged his temples with one hand and laid the other on the desk accompanying the shelves. Images of blood-splattered floors and walls flashed throughout his mind. The horrific sights, the crushing sounds and even the metallic smell of death were all reacquainting themselves with the same little boy that tried to escape the all too tragic ordeal.
"Impossible", Sebastian grumbled, clutching his head. Darius looked on in curiosity and for a fleeting moment, concern, "Your grandfather thought it would be an excellent idea to totally replicate your room from your home", he said. Sebastian lifted his head and examined the rest of the room, from the same floors to the crooked posters of great knights. "Out of all the rooms in that wretched house, why this one?", asked Sebastian. Darius shrugged, "Haven't a clue." The room was, of course, his very own bedroom, it not being filled with the fantastical memories of childhood, instead of horror. It was in this very same room, under the very same desk that a little Sebastian perhaps aged five or six witnessed the gruesome murder of his mother.
Sebastian breathed deeply and took a second to dispose of the dreadful thoughts. He walked on over to the second pair of doors and confidently pushed them open, revealing a shockingly pleasant sight. The crimson curtains that flowed from ceiling to floors, the deep blue sheets on his bed and the many posters, flags, and figures of dragons and goblins all made Sebastian oddly warm. He was immediately transported to yet another memory, one of many others. As a child, Sebastian's father would often tell him stories about the battles of men and elves; teaching him about the legends of dragons, mages, angels and even demons. Sebastian shrugged the memories off out of disappointment and noticed that all of his belongings were already stowed. "I thought we were supposed to be unpacking.", Sebastian asked. "Well, Professor Ignatius took that initiative upon himself.", Darius replied. "Then why did I have to drag you along?", Sebastian asked quite rudely. Darius replied with an affirmative tone, "To brief you on what you need to know for tomorrow's assembly."
"Tomorrow, the first assembly of the trimester will take place in Magnus Hall", Darius explained, "there, you'll be seated along with our housemates." "Is this supposed to be every day?", Sebastian asked. "Of course not!", replied Darius, "Assemblies are on Mondays only and every other would just be breakfast." Sebastian nodded in compliance and plopped down onto the leather sofa in the living area, Darius following him. As Darius sat down, a moment or two of silence passed then, a rhythm of knocks came from the door. "It's about time!", Darius remarked as he shot up and made a beeline for the door. He opened the doors and greeted the visitor, "You took your time, it was becoming awkward in this stuffy room." As he closed the door, the visitor met eyes with Sebastian just as Darius announced her, "Sebastian, this is Arielle Descartes."
Arielle Descartes, daughter of Antoine Descartes; belonged to a rival family to the Lancasters. They're rooted in the aristocratic and military history of France, even producing a handful of French Monarchs. As for Arielle, she never reflected the jealousy of her namesake instead, she shared a fragmented portion of her childhood with Sebastian, a rival by blood. Arielle was stunning in every way; her warm chestnut coloured hair only intensified the depths of green in her eyes. As their eyes locked, Arielle blushed sparking the same reaction in Sebastian. She paced forward and greeted Sebastian, "Hello Sebastian...", she fluttered. "H-h-hi", Sebastian replied. The two stared sort of awkwardly at each other for eternity and would have rightly been so if it wasn't for Darius' intervention.
"Well, we got on great without you," complained Darius. "I know. I know.", Arielle replied, "I got caught up with the Rowing Team." Darius shook his head in disappointment. "Anyways", Arielle continued, "it looks like you settled in just fine, right Sebastian?" "Um-right. Well-yeah I suppose so!", Sebastian replied. These two had always shared an unbreakable bond even when they were little; their families too. However, this is all took a turn when Sebastian's mother died and as such, Arielle was ripped away from Sebastian with the rest of her family. Nevertheless, the two was fated to meet sooner or later. "Will you be staying?", Sebastian asked. "Uh...", Arielle answered, looking at her watch, "I can't, I have to make it to trials." Sebastian nodded, "Alright...well...um, I'll see you around." Arielle didn't reply, instead, she sort of nodded but then wanted to reply but didn't, then glanced at the door then at Sebastian, then it happened. She lunged forward and hugged Sebastian, firmly yet so delicately. Surprised, Sebastian froze, peering at Darius through Arielle's lavender scented hair.
Arielle broke the embrace after some time and took her leave, "I hope you like it here Sebastian", she said before the left. As the door thudded closed behind her, Darius immediately noticed the ticklish awkwardness, "So...that happens often?" "What you mean?", Sebastian responded, still red in the face. "You know", Darius continued, "the attention from girls" Sebastian squinted, "Um...yea...I don't know." Darius nodded and sort of shifted his gaze to the floor, "Well I better go as well..." "Oh, yeah of course!", Sebastian responded, "Thanks for everything." Darius nodded and left, the doors thudding shut again.
Sebastian bolted the giant latch on the doors and rubbed his head. For just a fleeting second, he smiled to himself and paced over to his bedroom. He removed his jacket and threw in on the bed, plopping down beside it. He took off his shoes and removed his tie. Looking up, he noticed a poster, one he never owned as a child. It had the school's crest on it, a gilded shield in the middle and was between a golden Griffin and silvery Pegasus. Sebastian stared at for a while then headed over to the bathroom. He entered and left the door open and begun to remove his shirt, revealing his athletically toned body. Just before he removed his trousers, he looked at himself in the mirror. He turned around and looked over. On either side of his shoulder blades were two jagged scars, in the shape of a slight crescent. He stared at them for a while continued to go on to shower. For the first time in years, he felt hopeful. Hopeful of a warm, bright future, especially in light of recent events...