The crowd watched the raging inferno with their mouths hanging open. All of them had only one question in their minds, how could a commoner be such a powerful mage? Just then, an enormous bird with ice colored feathers flew out of the fire and with its burning body flew higher and higher in the sky and then burst like fireworks.
Silver Phoenix!
As they watched, the fire died and Sage, their newest mage, emerged from within.
Sage came out in a daze, the woman's voice was fading from her head. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her hand and her mind became alert. She saw all the other students staring at her with their mouths agape, and she looked at them in confusion.
She felt the heat on her forearm. When she pulled up her sleeve, she saw the delicate design of a cornflower that had appeared on her pale skin. There was one stem with three branches. One held a bud, the second held a bud that was beginning to bloom, and the topmost one was a fully bloomed cornflower.
A hand sat on her shoulder. She turned her head sideways to see the astonished face of the Grand Mage.
"You will be facing trials, child. They will be hard but, when you pass them, you will be strong.", he said in a soothing voice. Then he cleared his throat and faced the crowd buzzing with questions. The students were pointing to something over her head and whispering words of disbelief.
Sage looked up and saw a magic rank board. Her name sat in the third row of the first column.
A1 - 3
Sage Evellora
Rank - Lady
Power - S
Strength - 9.3
Type - Attack
By the time she went through this, the crowd had sunk into silence at the grand mage's gesture. Seeing them quiet down, the Grand Mage began to speak.
"The rank board has categorized the student's power. There is no problem detected. According to the rules, Sage has acquired the Lady rank. She shall join Class A and shall be formally addressed as Lady Silver. You may now retire. Class A female representative, please come to my office after escorting your classmates to the dormitories."
The students started to leave as per class and dormitory. The Grand Mage turned to Sage.
"You shall address me as headmaster from now. Follow me to my office to meet your class representative."
Sage followed the headmaster out of the dome and into the main building. The headmaster's office was located at the top of the central tower. She was led into a tower and through the left door into a small square room that could hold about 6-8 people. Once inside, the headmaster placed his hand on the wall on the left side of the closed door and the surface under his palm lit up instantly. The pale green light faded and a set of numbers appeared on the wall, from 1- 9. A few seconds after he pressed number 9, the floor started moving upwards.
"Don't fear it. It's only a harmless Leva", the headmaster said.
Sage wasn't afraid of it, only surprised. She went from surprised to awed as they went higher and higher. She saw doors every few seconds. On reaching the 9th door, the magical mechanism stopped. The headmaster opened the door and Sage trailed after him into his semi-circular office. On the walls were various framed certificates and other accolades won by the academy. The office itself had a very warm but formal setting which instantly created a relaxed atmosphere.
The headmaster sat down on the chair behind the desk. He placed his elbows on the table and wove his fingers together. Instantly his presence screamed 'headmaster' and 'pay attention'. His eyes bore into Sage's as he started speaking.
"Your schedule will be handed to you in the morning by your class representative. She will tell you everything you need to know as well. I just want to bring a few things to your notice.", he paused and licked his lips before continuing.
"I won't lie to you and say this is going to be easy. I think we both know it won't be. You have been placed in a class that teaches the most elite of the elite. Your background may cause some problems. Unfortunately, you can't keep a low profile after the display of power and ranking today. Being part of class A also has another significance. Your schedule will not only contain regular classes but also inter-kingdom related classes. This is because being strong also means you have a greater role to play when it comes to our kingdom as well as the Allied Lands as a whole. Therefore, everything you do starting today will affect the reputation of the Elite, the academy, and the kingdom."
There was a knock on the door. After the headmaster's 'come in', a tall brunette with elfish features entered the room. She was wearing the academy's uniform that consisted of a dress that ended an inch or two above the knee with a cage-style cropped vest over it. The belt on her waist had pockets on either side and a few loops to hold other tools. A shield-shaped brooch right over her heart held the academy insignia with a cursive gold 'A' at its center.
The girl walked to the front of the table and stood directly opposite the headmaster. With her right palm placed just below the insignia, she gave a slight curtsy to the headmaster. She then turned towards Sage.
"Lady Silver", she said and curtsied before facing the headmaster again.
"This is Lady Light. She is the female representative of Class A. She will take you around and tell you everything you need to know.", the headmaster said and gestured for Lady light to take over.
"Yes, headmaster", she said, curtsying again, and then her eyes met Sage's.
"Follow me.", she said and started walking out of the office.
Sage looked at the headmaster and imitating the Lady, gave an awkward curtsy.
"Thank you.", she said and hurried out of the door.
In the Leva, Lady Light was waiting. When she saw Sage, her lips curled in a soft smile. She pressed her palm on the wall to activate the mechanism and pressed the number 1. They started moving downwards.
"My name is Nova Ambrose.", she said and extended her hand towards Sage.
"Nice to meet you.", Sage said, surprised at her carefree demeanor and clasped Nova's hand, giving it a shake and letting go almost immediately.
"There's no need to be nervous. Not all of us hate you being here.", Nova assured, smiling."I for one am glad I have another girl to talk to in class."
"Let's go. I'll tell you everything on the way."
They exited the Leva and Nova took Sage into a corridor lit with lamps containing fist size balls of light. She told Sage this was the way to the Female dormitories that housed students of years 1 and 2. The dormitories were located in the East of the Academy. The West housed female students of years 3 and 4. The South and North were for male students of years 1-2 and 3-4 respectively. All four directions had three identical towers. One tower on each side was for the Elites of class A.
"Why are you formally named Lady Light?", Sage asked. She had become more comfortable around Nova after listening to her detailed explanation.
"My spirit beast is a Unicorn. When I was awakened, he created a rainbow and turned it into a pillar of pure light that illuminated the dome. It was brighter than the sun.", Nova replied.
They reached their tower and Nova let them in by pressing her hand on a rectangular panel on the right side wall, It glowed green, and the door opened. Sage saw two Leva's side by side. They took the one with number 2 above the door. Inside she pressed number 3.
"The tower may look simple but the structure contains double towers. There is a gap between the two walls which goes a floor beneath the ground. That's the servants' quarters. They use the stairs built into the walls to access our rooms for cleaning. These Leva's can be used to access one half of the tower each. The number signifies the year and the button signifies you rank in your class which is also the floor you will live on. Since you are rank 3, you live on the 3rd floor. Since it's a mixed-gender class, if a male/ female doesn't hold a number rank in their tower, the room is left empty.", Nova said, clarifying Sage's thoughts.
"What about you?", Sage asked as they stepped out of the Leva and into her room.
"I live a floor above you. I hold the second rank. Floors are numbered from top to bottom.", Nova said with a grin.
The semi-circular space was divided into 3. The rectangular room they had entered was a sitting room with a large comfy looking chair, a three-seat sofa, and a fireplace, decorated with rugs and lamps. The door on the right led to her individual bathing area and the door right opposite them led to her bedroom.
"Since it's late, you should go rest. I'm sure all of this is overwhelming for you. I will be here early tomorrow and make sure to tell you everything else.", Nova patted Sage's cheek and left the room with a 'goodnight'.
Sage turned around and entered her bedroom, which she saw had a huge bed with a large cushioned headboard. It was overflowing with cushions and pillows and had covers made of silk and thick merino wool. There was a floor to ceiling window and sheer white curtains with a loveseat on one side and a curved desk sat against the wall on the other. She also noticed a large closet next to the door. On a bar in the closet were bags that she assumed held her uniform.
She took her eyes off the freesia filled porcelain vases and shaggy carpet on the floor and headed over to the bed. Exhausted she collapsed onto the soft mattress. Clothes, shoes and all.
As she drifted off she seemed to notice that the ceiling was sparkling like a million stars had been stuck on it, making her feel as though she was sleeping under the night sky.