"In the most recent raid on the redcap settlement of Cohlyana, we directly involved ourselves in the birth of a child, from a redcap mother. This child, from what we could see, was not fully redcap, but in fact part human. It is our assumption a Guild Member has forcibly himself onto the redcap and gave birth to this thing. We have begun to interrogate some other dwellers of the settlement, but so far nothing has gave us any hint of how this thing came to be. I will keep you updated, Ethan.
Many Thanks, Iago Duskwalker"
-A Letter to the Guildmaster I, by Iago Duskwalker
After some introductions from his new 'teacher', Daniel quickly found a seat, nearer to the back of the class. This hall was like nothing he had every expected; while it was not like the small classrooms of his hometown's school, it held that same welcoming atmosphere despite its grand appearance, and the class seats were arranged in arcing curves, and ascended up the hall as if they were rising into the heavens themselves.
How, Daniel thought, How was this thing my teacher. It makes no sense. How high of a rank is this guy; platinum? Maybe it was even one of the two platinums I heard about. The Vileblood or The Brawn. No, if this guy was one of them, he would definitely be The Vileblood. He isn't just vile but... He's frightening too. While watching his teacher welcome another student too, Daniel noticed that his facade was gone. No, rather it was improved, it was now flawless. His eyes, that once spelt death for all who dared stare into them, were friendly and hopeful. Was that previous facade just something he put up for a quick fix? What Daniel had not realised that the facade that the thing was wearing now was its 'perfection'.
"Hey!", a small girl around half his size and age had found herself a seat next to the engrossed and somewhat disturbed boy, waving her hand over his face, "You there?"
"Oh! Sorry for that, just hard to take it all in, you know?" Daniel responded in a shaky voice.
"I know right! Every one was like 'GASP! and WOW!' when I got put into this class, its pretty surreal, you know?" the girl said, mimicking his phrase, "Well... The names Nynae! Nyn for short! And you, 'you know' boy?"
"Daniel. Don't really have a nickname, like you." Daniel answered, taken aback by the girl's forwardness, "Your not from around here, are you?"
"Yes! I suppose so. I'm from the Silversnow Mountains, near Shanty Town!"
The Silversnow Mountains; the name that describes the mountain range that covers all sides of Alium except the south. And Shanty Town; a small village at the base of Pegasus Peak, the tallest mountain in the range. Usually, the only people that live in the Silversnow Mountains that aren't in Shanty Town are from small, indigenous tribes that are dotted around the entire range, unaware of the happenings of the rest of the world.
"Aren't the rest of the mountains just populated by tribes and such?"
"Yep! I'm from the Okshlaw Tribe, meaning Wild Polar Beast! We take big, BIG, pride in that"
"I can see", she acts more like a child than she looks, thought Daniel, "Then how did you come to the Guild. I thought tribes like yours are isolated."
"Our tribe is nearby Shanty Town and the main Lyrim city, so we get a lot of travellers and trade from them. I heard about it from some foreigner looking for a taste of some special 'Lyrim Brew' or something like that. I don't remember," muttered Nyn, before bellowing a hefty laugh, "Anyway, I went travelling with this foreigner. He was very kind and he led me to the Guild since he was a Guild Member and said I should join. So I did! And I'll never forget that man's name, its 'Mr. Smith', I think. I don't remember!"
Mr. Smith. My examiner, Daniel pondered. The one who only allowed me to join out of my whole testing group. How powerful was this guy, to just allow someone to join the Guild without proper testing. He even recognised someone who he doesn't even now as a candidate for becoming a platin- It then hit Daniel. Nyn was also fated to become a monster like him. How strong was Nyn to be expected to become a platinum at this age? It couldn't be her physical abilities, after all, she looks like she could barely hurt a fly. Then there was only one other reason, her ar-
"Attention! Class is starting" the thing called Lanyon Pierce exclaimed.
It was the first time Daniel had looked around before talking with Nyn. The class had become relatively full with porcelains, and most of them were fairly unusual. An eccentric looking boy, flirting with the other kids around his table, or a sickly girl hiding in the very corner of the room, muttering to herself constantly, and even the various noble's children around him. At that moment, it truly felt like a class for the porcelains expected to become platinums. They were all powerful. And he, for the first time since he came to Alandriel, even after being discouraged and put down all those times, he felt weak. Truly weak.
"Okay! Lets start, now that everyone's at their seats," the thing shouted, "Lets begin with introductions. I am Lanyon Pierce, which is Mr. Pierce to you, no questions asked. Unless you somehow don't know, you here are all expected to become P-L-A-T-I-N-U-M-S!", the room grew quiet, a few realising that fact for the first time, and others looking smug because they already knew, "However, you may be in Class 1, but you are in Class 1-B! My Class! And it has been for a while... Now, don't get discouraged about the fact your in the B class, you can do just as well or exceed that of the A class, but you, at the moment, are weaker. Not WEAK! Weak-ER! Understand that well, and we'll get on just fine. If anyone dares to think they're weak in my class, not THIS class, you don't deserve to be in it. Because, YOU are strong... Got it!?"
"Y-Yes sir!", the class chanted in apprehensive unison.
"So, for the first lesson of the day..." he said, with the class wondering what a Class 1 lesson would be, "The Basics Of Arts!"