The Guard, whose name Fate learned to be Jan, led him through the bustling city.
They passed dozens of shops and stalls and peddlers with rugs covered in exotic trinkets. It was loud, far louder than anything Fate had experienced. He could feel a headache coming along and felt his ears start to ache. It was also crowded; ridiculously, horribly crowded.
Even as Jan's green armor prompted the city dwellers to make way, Fate still had to squeeze between shoulders and slide between stomachs. He couldn't help but wonder how they got where they needed to go when it was like this.
After twelve turns and many, many people, they broke through the crowd and came upon the Royal Mage Academy, a splendid building with elegant arches and exquisitely carved pillars depicting famous Mages of the past battling dragons and taming phoenixes, all carved out of pure white marble inlaid with silver. While it wasn't overly high, only around thirty feet tall, the building made up for it in spades with its massive, sprawling length.
Fate estimated the building extended for at least three miles in every direction, the ten-foot-high golden metal fence extending for miles more, giving the Academy hundreds of acres to its left, right, and back.
The gate to the fence was slighter taller than the rest, at twelve feet, ending in a gentle curve at the top and split down the middle. To the right of the gate was a small enclosed booth, inside which was a bored-looking middle-aged man in flowing brown mage robes.
Jan led Fate to this booth, greeting the man inside with a smile. "Hey, Greg. Got another new one for ya."
The Mage in the booth narrowed his eyes at Fate, leaning into the floating, textured cube in front of him and speaking into it. "What Manifestation do you have? And what's wrong with your eyes?"
"Come on, Greg. You know you aren't allowed to ask questions like that. They'll learn soon enough when he fills out the form.
"Fine. Don't burn, soak, ruffle, decimate, disintegrate, smash, 'fix,' or break Academy property. Doing so will result in a fine of double what the item is worth, something I'm sure you can't afford. Now head on in and leave me alone." He pressed some unseen button and the gates swung open.
Jan nudged Fate forward. "Well? Go on, then. Straight through the doors, then a left, a right, and it's a straight shot to the admission hall."
"Thanks, Jan," Fate told him.
"Don't mention it." With that, Jan left, on his way back to the chair and to Hubert. Fate returned his gaze to the threshold and the Academy beyond. He took a quick breath to steel himself and stepped past the gate…
Only for someone to shove him to the side and run past. "Watch where you're going, jackass!" The offender yelled over his shoulder. Fate righted himself, taking a moment to memorize the man's silhouette.
'Tall, scrawny. Brown robes, brown hair. Pretty sure his eyes were blue.' Fate would make sure to pay him back later.
For now, he followed Jan's instructions and went through the Academy, which swiftly became overwhelming. He assumed it must've been in between classes because the hallways were packed with teenagers and young adults fighting their way through the field of bodies in hopes of getting to their destination.
A lot of pushing and shoving later, Fate made it to the admission hall. A wide hall lit with sunlight from the glass walls on either side and glowing crystals in the ceiling, the space was filled with row after row of carved wooden tables, each eight feet long. Behind each one was an adult, in front were seats which were either empty or filled with people Fate's age, and on them were stacks upon stacks of papers.
Just outside the entrance were two lines, one on each side. Fate picked the right one, which looked shorter, and settled in to wait. Thankfully, the wait wasn't long.
He noticed shortly after joining his line that those seated at each table seemed to not be moving at all, yet the massive stacks of papers went from one side to the other within seconds. No student stayed at the table for more than five seconds, meaning Fate got his turn within minutes.
Fate took a seat at a table when indicated to do so by the woman who was now across from him. She tapped the necklace she wore around her neck, and their surroundings blurred. Fate blinked in surprise when the people around him stopped moving. No, that wasn't right. A closer look revealed that they were indeed moving, but so slowly that it was almost impossible to notice.
"What's the matter, kid? Never seen a time trinket before?" asked the lady with a grin.
"No, I've only heard about them from a friend of mine. I didn't think they were real," Fate replied courteously.
He noted her long raven hair and black eyes, along with the silver robes that did little to hide her womanly curves. On top of her head was a floppy hat that matched her robes, painting the picture of a powerful Mage.
"Like what you see? Well, I'm sorry, but relationships between students and professors are forbidden. Focus on the papers, yes?"
Fate's eyes darted to the large stack of papers to his left. A cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he came to a harrowing realization. "I, uh… I can't read." His mother passed before she could teach him, and his father couldn't even be bothered to feed him, much less teach him to read.
"That's fine, I'll read it to you. All you have to do is tell me the answers." The woman grabbed the first paper off of the stack and placed it before her, clicking a pen open and putting the tip to the sheet. "First off, what's your name?"
"Fate," he replied.
"Nice to meet you, Fate. I'm Alessandra. Next, what's your Stage?"
"Apprentice?"
"Is that a question or an answer?"
"I only Awakened earlier today."
"So Apprentice." She jotted the answer down on the paper. "You have some absurd luck. The school year starts tomorrow. Facet?"
"Negativity."
Alessandra affixed him with an unamused stare, her eyes glaring out from under the brim of her hat. "Be serious, please."
Fate shrugged. "That's what the stone said."
"Place your hand on this, please," Alessandra said, pulling a crystal ball out from under the table. Fate obliged, and a screen popped up, declaring his Facet to be Negativity. "I'll be. Alright, Negativity it is."
She wrote down the answer with a flourish, placing the paper in a new stack to her left. "One down, fifty-three to go."