Ekiya kingdom, centre of Bellamy.
Union Academy's hall of unity.
As Coy trailed after the seas of blue-cloaked students, the hall came into view. Breathtaking was the only word that crossed Coy's mind as he took in the sight.
It was wide, beyond what the outside exterior revealed. Network veins of sky blue descended from the grey walls, and between each two metres high above the ground, stained windows were stationed as animated drawings swam in them. Fairies and elves dancing around a great tree, demihumans celebrating beneath the sun, vampires prostrating towards the looming celestials in the night, dragons sleeping, dwarves forging, giants hunting, merfolks gathering around a giant pearl, and humans trading.
At the forefront of the hall, a huge window was plastered to the wall. This one depicted a whole other story, as Coy could see the dragons, elves, vampires, and all the other native races battling with creatures of chaotic morphology.
Inscribed Beneath it in runes was the word "Remembered."
A message to the demons, Coy thought, that the denizens of Mundus never forgot the war that plunged them into a nightmare, and a reminder to the new generations about the tainted past.
Coy's stupor didn't last long as he took a seat among the chairs organised in a uniform manner.
It seemed that he was of the throng who got here early because the hall wasn't even half full.
Taking out his silver pocket watch, the time showed seven past half. Just as he put it back in his suit's right pocket, a voice asked.
"Uhm, can I sit here?" A mellifluous voice it was, as Coy's mind got entranced for a second before he glanced at its origin.
An elf boy of blonde hair and green eyes stood there with a smile. He wore a white scholar robe over his blue-cloaked uniform, which was adjusted to his chest. Coy nodded at him, prompting the boy to sit down.
"Baem, pleasure to meet your acquaintance." The boy said as he extended a hand towards Coy.
Coy didn't think much of his gesture, assuming the boy wanted to befriend him. He shook Baem's hand, which was unusually soft considering that elves dabbled with enchantments, and introduced himself: "Coy, the feeling is likewise."
Baem retracted his hand and asked in wonder, "Pardon me if I'm asking a sensitive question, but you look quite young to be enrolling in the academy."
Appearance-wise, Coy was slightly shorter than the average juniors of the academy, who were ten years old, but he didn't expect Baem to notice it that quickly.
"You think so? You know, it could be just an issue regarding my height."
Baem chuckled, but it was masked by the arriving students' march. "It doesn't appear to me like that," he said, not explaining his reasons. Coy took it as a sign that he wanted to drop that issue and silently put it in the back of his head.
He said, "You're correct. I enrolled three years earlier due to family matters."
"I see..." Baem replied, lost in thought.
The conversation died afterwards as Coy plainly looked around the mesmerising interior of the hall. It was among the most beautiful scenes in his span of a thousand years of memory.
Time passed before the clock hit eight. At this point, almost everyone was present.
The hall buzzed with the conversations of the students before it gradually died as they noticed an old lady trekking towards the podium. The headmistress, Caesy Alkav, finally arrived.
She scanned the new buds of the academy with a judging gaze as few of them flinched due to how intense it was.
"Greetings, students of the prestigious Union Academy. I welcome you all." Her voice echoed across the hall. Heard by everyone.
"Today embarks a dream, a journey for every legend and hero-inspired individual. It is a journey with obstacles and trials, for where you aim to stand in the future is a high point, and many perish before achieving it. It is upon you, as knights, mages, and explorers, to tread that path, for we are merely helping hands, aiming to hone your potential. You are the writers of your life; as such, you shall fulfil the end of it. whether as heroes and legends, or as mundane beings."
The students felt something open when they heard the headmistress's words. It was the curtain that veiled their dreams and ambitions.
She continued, "During your seven years of life here, you have us to mend the tools for your journey, so seek knowledge and experience, as they shall be your saving grace in times of hardship. Unite, for that is our purpose ordained by the Ancient One. And live, for our death is a pleasure to our enemies. I once again welcome you, prestigious students of the Union Academy. Live up to its name."
A thunderous applause boomed as everyone's faces' brightened by the rallying opening speech of the headmistress. She was like a beacon of light for those lost in life, steering them towards their true path, buried in the depths of their hearts.
***
"Man! The headmistress was really something back then."
"I agree. She was like a sage filled with wisdom in her first part, while in the second part, she was like a general commanding her subjects for an inevitable war."
The opening ceremony ended uneventfully if you exclude the speech given by the headmistress, as the remaining part of it was about the history of the academy and its purpose, which almost bored everyone to death. Most of them have been taught about that since they could read and write.
Currently, a senior student with a long green cloak was giving a batch of the new students a tour of the academy grounds.
"And so, after our little tour, you must head to the administration hall and ask the staff there for your homeroom class. It will be a class that you will spend in until graduation." The senior said, prompting almost everyone to groan. They couldn't imagine being stuck in a single classroom filled with the same people for seven whole years!
The senior laughed at their reaction and continued, "It's not that bad. You will understand it eventually. Also, when your homeroom class starts, you will be given the subjects available for you to choose from during your first year of classes. Of course, there are some mandatory ones among them, but they're feasible."
Coy, among the students being toured, glanced at his newfound friend and said, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could be put in the same class? I feel like we could get along for seven years."
Baem nodded in agreement and replied. "I also hope we are put in the same class. I have this notion that fun things will happen if I'm around you."
Coy looked at him in confusion before shaking his head. 'Why be so mysterious?'
The academy's grounds were huge and had a plethora of buildings. The dormitories, the staff's building, and the outdoor halls for various combat lessons.
There were also stores and restaurants of different types for the students and staff's use.
At the centre of it was the magic tower exclusively built for the academy's head, currently held by Caesy Alkav. She usually used it for research, meeting purposes among the academy council, and training Aelfryn, her disciple.
Coy thought that it would probably take him a whole day to visit every notable place in the academy.
He noticed that their tour was coming to an end as the senior student once again reminded them to go to the administration hall before leaving.
Baem invited Coy to go there together, and Coy had no reason to decline, so he followed him. During their walk, other students of their generation were also heading for the administration hall, making the path there crowded. Seeing their predicament, Baem suggested that they should lay down at a cafe before things calmed down, which Coy accepted as he deemed it a good idea.
They were currently sipping coffee while having a chat about their home.
"Woah, I'm surprised. To think you were the son of a duke, and duke Athan Blake at that?" Baem queried in astonishment. Duke Athan could be regarded as a legend among the students of Union Academy, as he revolutionised many spells and had countless achievements to his name.
Coy just waved his hand and said, "I should be the one surprised since I've never heard of him telling me that. Besides, I didn't expect you to be a high elf. No wonder you could sniff my age."
Laughing at Coy's remark, Baem said, "I get that a lot. High elves usually have the same hair colour as tree leaves, while mine is like the golden stalks in a good harvest season."
"True. I've heard that elves were talented at calling for elemental spirits; have you contracted with one?" Coy asked. Back when he was reading about elemental spirits prior to contacting Hesper, he caught a glimpse about elves being overly proficient in having contact with elemental spirits due to them being so attuned to nature.
Baem smiled as he called for his spirit. A breeze blew over his head, accompanied by a tangible figure of swirling tornadoes. "Meet Sayan; she is my best friend if you exclude my mother."
Coy scrutinised the creature and marvelled at how chaotically ordered its body structure was. He then nudged the slumbering Hesper near his mana core, causing it to wake up and come out.
The little fella's form of golden fire had brightened more than before, which Coy assumed was due to him being at the doorsteps of the second circle. Elemental spirits grew with their contracted partners at every new circle they conjured.
"This is Hesper, a fire spirit I befriended recently," Coy introduced, shocking Baem to the core.
Contracting with a spirit was hard—so hard that 80% of the mage's population didn't have one. Yet this guy actually made a contract with a spirit that appeared to have high potential. It's not just every day that you see golden-fire spirits.
Hesper alighted down Coy's chest and buzzed around Sayan like a bee, causing her to twirl around in place.
'A greeting of sorts?' Coy thought, not noticing the complicated look Baem was giving him.
'Is this what they mean when they say 'like father, like son'?' He sighed in his heart, already foreseeing an interesting future.