August 2nd, 3016NCE.
Due to my father's aversion to waking early, we almost ran late to our first and most important appointment. We hurriedly had breakfast and practically ran to Huygen's Zenith.
Mom greeted the receptionist, we'd met her when we first got in the campus, and she led us to the elevators.
"You have been given access to the 38th floor, so please don't exit the elevator until then, as you may be risking your safety if you do. I'm obligated to say that to everyone visiting that floor, but I really mean it. I've had to call a healer more than once or twice in the last two years." She advised with a smile.
"O-okay, we won't." I could feel my mother's uneasiness.
When the elevator arrived at the lobby, two mages (I deduced that they were mages) stepped down and almost ran over us. They wore matching robes and were quite young, maybe a couple of years older than me, though I wasn't sure.
"-no, I'm telling you, you have to consider the Uncertainty Principle and preserve Conservation of Energy. It's too much reach for a rank 3 spell to have."
"I know! All I'm saying is that it's theoretically possible. And it would look really cool in my profile if I could prove it."
"You think no one tried that already? Just give up dude, Mana Movement is not that simple, especially when dealing with..."
They were so entertained in their conversation that they didn't even notice us on their way out. Or perhaps they did notice us, they just didn't care.
Regardless, we got inside and pressed the 38th floor, as instructed.
I took a cursory glance around, and noticed the oddity of the elevator. As far as the walls went, it looked normal, with a mirror, a monitor showing the news, and a compartment for luggage. But on the floor, series of metallic rings created patterns beneath a layer of glass.
Once we started going up, I swore those rings just briefly shone, and I looked down on time to see them start spinning, madly. And then, I felt myself become heavier. Not too much, but it was not normally what you'd feel on any elevator.
When I looked to the floors panel, I saw them lighting up extremely fast. In the blink of an eye (figuratively), we reached our destination.
The doors opened, and I looked at my parents, whom had the same surprised expression on their face. Slowly, we left the elevator.
There was another lobby there, and a man in his forties looked at us from his desk for a moment before going back to his computer. He was frantically typing something with crazy speed.
We approached his desk dubiously, following the carpet down the silent hallway. When mother was about to say something, the man raised his head to us and indicated:
"Welcome. The Principal is waiting for you in his office."
I noticed he wore a suit much like Isabel's, of an indigo-blue color that was apparently the Academy's official color.
After saying his piece, he went down to his computer again, battling a fierce keyboard with rapid movements.
I held a sigh and followed my father, who went ahead and knocked on the door.
"Come in." A voice resounded from inside.
"Excuse us."
The first thing I noticed when I got inside was the unexpected room. I expected to see bookshelves, wooden furniture and maybe a globe on a desk, but what I saw took my breath away.
The centerpiece of the office was a colossal panoramic window that spanned the entire length of the walls, providing an almost uninterrupted vista of the city and the surrounding towers. What wasn't glass (it looked like marble) was colored in white, purple and brown, with expensive leather furniture that literally floated off the ground.
The Principal was an old man, maybe on his sixties, with a medium-length gray beard and penetrating reddish-brown eyes. Despite his age, he actually displayed muscles and a lean physique underneath his casually buttoned formal white shirt. Compared to every other mage I had seen, he probably dressed the simplest.
"Welcome to the National Academy of Magic. Please, take a seat wherever you want." His voice was calm and deep.
I immediately went for the oval floating seats in front of his desk, distracted by everything around me. Diego opened his mouth to say some pleasantries, but cat got his tongue. When we were finally seated, the principal continued.
"Let me introduce myself: my name is Zachary John Heuer, and I am the principal here at the Academy. I also look over our two other campuses, so I am a bit more occupied than I appear."
He laughed out loud at his joke and I smiled slightly. He gave me a good first impression.
"You must be Selena, Diego and... Leaf Westernham, yes? What an unusual name."
"It was common during the Post-Contemporary Era." My mother explained, a bit more relaxed.
"I suppose it was, indeed. I heard you arrived two days ago from Fiore, is that right? How are you finding the campus so far?"
"I love it!" Mother enthusiastically responded. "We moved to our new house yesterday, and despite the smaller size, I really have nothing to complain about."
"I'm glad you liked it, and I'm sorry for dragging you so suddenly all the way here. This is actually a very old tradition at the Academy: in order to protect the students' families from all sorts of threats, we require them to stay within Academy grounds, so the children can learn with open minds and tranquil hearts. As a bonus, you get to see each other more often and interact with the magical community."
"Anything for our son. Seeing it with my own eyes made me feel that we made the right choice about him becoming a mage." She explained. "But how long do we have to stay here for? We were told it was until he became an official mage, but they never gave us any actual numbers..."
"You haven't received the letter? My apologies, that's on us. I'll talk to my secretary later to send you all a copy. It contains everything you need to know about the policies here during your stay. As for you, Leaf, you will be handed a handbook once your class is assigned."
My parents looked really relieved to hear that. Me? Not so much.
"I can give you some heads up. If you really feel the need to leave, we can accomodate you in one of our other campuses, or even in partner campuses throughout the world. Additionally, if you find your current house inappropriate, you may also buy or rent another one freely."
We all had shocked expressions once he finished. It was quite the unbelievable, yet incredible, news. Zachary looked at the big analog clock on his wall before resuming conversation
"...As for an estimation... As far as I remember, it took an average of 5 years to become an official mage, but it may take much less, or much more than that. However, I do hope you can patiently wait for him, I can assure you it's totally worth it."
My parents pondered while I slightly frowned. It seemed like a long time, and yet was so close. Becoming an official mage... was right there at the corner!