A shockwave of mana invaded Arthur's senses as the female Warlock unleashed the power locked within her core.
'Wow,' Arthur mused.
A circle of runes began to materialise as ethereal runes of amber magic slithered out of Kendra's wand in fuming wisps. The navy blue rod produced runes at a rate faster than they'd seen Baxter's earlier.
And it was only then that Arthur noticed the difference.
Baxter furrowed his brows in frustration, looking away from the female as she continued to weave her spell and arrange the magic circle around the group of green-clad first years and their lieutenant.
Soon enough, a great circle similar to the one Baxter had conjured glowed at their feet, spinning faster than the lieutenant's had. Arthur sensed that this frustrated the lieutenant, and if he couldn't get frustrated like he'd previously confirmed, then Baxter was at least, irritated.
As soon as the magic circle was complete, Arthur felt a significant surge of mana coming from the runes.
'That's definitely something.'
The magic was greater than the amount Baxter had used but in no way close to the magic he experienced at the launching pad.
'This might just work…'
A large ethereal crack went straight across the runes, distorting the beautiful artwork of runes.
'I take that back.'
A few seconds passed and the whole magic circle was a cobweb of cracks before it shattered into a million specks of magic dust that were scattered and lost to the gentle breeze of the courtyard.
The captain stared at Arthur one more time, "Not like the other one, huh?"
"Nope," Baxter replied, popping the 'p'.
The girl holding the wand went weak at the knees and her eyelids went shut as she dropped to the ground.
The prince found that he had to hold himself back as his instincts kicked in. She was nothing to him… so he ought to have stayed out of it, right?
Fortunately, Captain Darwin was a step ahead and rushed to the Warlock, catching her before she hit the ground, "What's wrong, Kendra?"
"My mana… It's drained. Nearly empty," the girl weakly replied, her eyes half-closed with her head tipped back. The colour seemed to instantly drain out of her face as the seconds ticked by.
"I'll get her to the infirmary. Since you're headed there, Baxter, bring my students along."
"Try not to hit anything on your way to the infirmary. Oh! And watch her head," Baxter advised in his expressionless tone. Arthur felt his hair stand on end, turning his attention to the captain.
Arthur would have laughed at Baxter's jabs but there was a sudden change in the atmosphere that caught his attention and kept him on high alert.
The captain's aura had undergone a sudden transformation.
In the presence of something potentially powerful, one's surroundings tended to slow down, leaving him frozen watching everything.
There was a significant change in the captain's aura indeed. The prince wanted to and would have merely shrugged off the change but his senses wouldn't let him. His hand instinctively clenched as though feeling for a weapon but there was nothing.
No lance… No bow staff as it was his second choice of weaponry.
It wasn't just the captain's aura that had gotten a thousand times more intimidating. His muscles tensed as well with purposeful direction.
In Arthur's eyes, everything slowed down as he watched the Captain move. The white-clad leader's muscles tensed and he seemed to tip his body towards the large spire that stood at the centre of the prestigious school.
His breathing changed as well, from the ordinary shallow breaths to a deep controlled rhythm that Arthur had learned from Conrad decades ago.
This was a technique aimed at achieving peak strength. The captains form… It was profound as well, engineered to allow him to get the most out of the first stride and every stride after that. It got him low to the ground, further increasing his stability.
Taking in all this information took barely two seconds with Arthur's acute senses allowing him to perceive his surroundings even faster.
Even so, nothing prepared the prince for what happened next.
In the next moment, Arthur was left rooted to the spot when the Captain blurred from view, leaving behind a powerful gale of wind similar to the powerful updraft produced by a dragon's wings.
"That's… a captain!" Arthur mumbled, his blood cold.
'But how? He's human, isn't he?'
Baxter's voice broke him from his trance, "Captain Darwin was right about the murmuring though. The professors do not like that. Try to restrain yourself. Now then, follow me to the infirmary. It's the last place on our tour."
The group of white-clad first years followed diligently behind Squad Six's first years, careful not to mix with the uncoordinated lot.
The members of Squad Six, except for Lyra, didn't seem bothered by this. They were getting the right amount of space from people who were basically strangers. It was just right.
For some unknown reason, this lax attitude seemed to bother the members of Squad One.
The group walked on, following Baxter through the winding corridors and endless stairs before reaching the floor that was reserved for 'Healers' as per Baxter's explanation.
"I'm sure you haven't noticed but that's fine. The Warlocks have roles as well within their course. Just like the hunters have categories and roles, so do the Warlocks. And Healers happen to be among them. You'll get the hang of it when the time is right," Baxter gave a brief explanation before proceeding to point out the different facilities along with vague explanations on what they were all for.
This floor held laboratories, classrooms, research labs and Infirmary. Once they were moving through it, it became clear that looks could be deceiving. Compared to the exterior of the central tower, this floor was gigantic.
Baxter was more interested in the Infirmary and didn't linger on the rest of the facilities. They only passed each of them, paying them as little attention as necessary.
It was not long before they stood before a large section of the floor that had been reserved for treating the injured and nursing the sick back to health.
Arthur stared at the odd neon sign at the top of the door that invited them in:
INFI-MARY
There seemed to be an 'R' missing in the green neon lights and the walls surrounding the door were cracked as well, displaying signs of old age while still projecting how much strength was left in the stone walls.
The thick stone walls of Barthlorn Castle were almost as impressive as the phoenix castle. Arthur's pride in his home, however, wouldn't let him see this magnificent castle as anything more than a step lower.
"Squad One. You shall wait for your captain in the Waiting Room. It's big enough to hold the lot of you. Squad Six first-years, follow me," Baxter commanded.
With that, Baxter entered the infirmary. When Arthur was leaving the group of White-clad, a girl called out from the group, "Arthur Ember, you don't look like much."
Arthur's eyes snapped back to the girl, holding her gaze with a hint of boredom, "Isn't that the point?" and that was the last they saw of Squad Six.
The voice had come from none other than Sophie Hopkins. Now that they were part of different squads, he didn't see any need in forming friendly relations with everyone right away.
..............
The group of students walked through the infirmary's white walls in silence, trying to keep their gazes low and directed towards their destination.
Throughout their silent walk through the corridors, they would hear the occasional grunt and howl of pain coming from the emergency rooms.
Arthur's curiosity eventually got to him, "Why are there casualties and what happened to them? Hasn't the semester only just begun?"
"Oh! Getting injured is normal at Barthlorn, for second years anyway. First years too, but it's never too serious. The students are always getting into all sorts of trouble.
Fortunately, the teachers have always managed to save them before lives were lost… so Barthlorn holds that record, I guess.
The answer to your first question is connected to the second. Yes, it is only the beginning of the semester but that doesn't mean everyone has been home.
When you get to your second year, you are offered the opportunity of joining professional hunters during their scouting expeditions beyond the Wall.
During that time, there is not a lot expected from the students. They are simply meant to learn from the experience and grow stronger before graduation. That doesn't mean injuries are off-limits though.
And that answers your first question. They were injured during such an expedition and brought back to the infirmary for treatment," Baxter stopped walking at a large aqua door, "Do you have any more questions before we enter?"
Arthur sighed, feeling a rise in tension. They were about to meet the captain of Squad Six. Arthur wondered why the captain was in the Infirmary in the first place. It wasn't hard to come to that conclusion.
While Darius hadn't outright mentioned it, he'd saved the infirmary for last and promised that they would meet their captain. It only stood to reason that she would be on the other side of this door.
There was Captain Darwin's reaction to their destination to confirm this as well. He'd talked about 'her' and Arthur had connected the dots.
After watching Captain Darwin dash off with their mana-drained Warlock, the prince was anxious to know what their captain was like… whether injured or not.
"No, I have no more questions," he replied.
"Very well then," Baxter put his hand to the knob and twisted it. As the lieutenant entered the room, Arthur thought he imagined the flicker of a smile appearing on Baxter's face.
Baxter was normally expressionless. So he thought he'd imagined it.
However, when Baxter next spoke, Arthur's initial judgement of the guy came tumbling down.
"Good morning, Captain," Baxter greeted in a kind tender tone, unlike anything he thought him capable of as he walked into the room.
The lieutenant's shoulders dropped a little and he was suddenly much more relaxed, his smile ever-present.
The emergency room itself was plain and white with the only splash of colour coming from presents and flowers by the table next to the hospital bed.
Leaning against the headboard with her legs covered by white sheets was a smiling girl slightly older than Baxter.
The girl had bright blue eyes that sparkled with white specks sprinkled within them resembling snowflakes falling from a bright blue sky.
What's more, was that her eyes sparkled just the same with more than just colour but delight as well.
The girl had light auburn hair that appeared way too puffy and messy to be real. Shooting in all directions, the auburn hair stood pronounced on the girl's head, oddly fitting her appearance.
It was only after she cracked a bright toothy smile that Arthur realised why her spiky mop seemed to fit her so well. Instead of a normal set of teeth, the girl had extended canines that gave her a carnivorous look.
Noticing the set of lengthy canines allowed the prince to take note of something else.
Amidst the spiky mop of hair were two protruding pointy masses of fur. At first, Arthur had thought it was a part of the hairstyle, but now he was sure it was anything but…
These were her ears… and seeing them twitch only confirmed his suspicions.
Squad Six's Captain was a shifter.