The RuneTrain finally broke through the clouds, revealing a breathtaking picturesque scene of grandeur, unlike anything the prince of phoenixes had ever been allowed the privilege of setting his eyes on.
For a moment, Arthur forgot to breathe, his mind and eyes working overtime to absorb the vast amount of information that flooded them.
A massive wave of magic energy flowed into the RuneTrain, washing through the prince in torrential currents as though they'd just gone through a magical barrier. The feeling was close to what felt when going through the Phoenix barrier... but instead of blistering heat, this one was warm.
Seven intimidating spires rose high into the air, six of them surrounding a much larger one in the middle. Six flags of different colours and symbols stood proudly at the top of the six spires.
'The Six Squads,' Arthur mused.
The myths he'd heard were correct after all. Each of these six flags stood for a different squad and the Sorting would decide which squad Arthur eventually wound up in.
The largest spire in the middle held a flag with Barthlorn's official badge on it. A great indomitable shield dented by blows and perforated by the fangs of a vicious beast.
The flags blew majestically in the wind adding to the grandeur of the castle. Sticking out of the central tower were several landing pads on which various air-mobiles landed.
Arthur noticed the air was filled with all sorts of flying vehicles, placing different students on the landing pads. There were a few RuneTrains and numerous private vehicles. His eyes scanned the skies for one thing in particular… dragons.
'I wonder where they are.'
The prince was so taken by the sight of the School that he was more than shocked when the RuneTrain suddenly swayed with a sudden jerk. Arthur's grip tightened around Lucy's hand, a powerful rumble reverberating through the walls of the RuneTrain.
The sudden rumble and tumble came with a dark shadow and a wave of heat that Arthur had grown used to feeling around his fellow phoenixes.
Beside the RuneTrain, a large crimson body soared past. 'Spoke too soon.'
The shadow drowned the RuneTrain in a momentary veil of darkness as the vehicle weaved lower and barely avoided a scratch from the beast's menacing set of hind talons.
Covered in glorious gleaming scarlet scales from snout to tail, a red dragon flew past them and landed on one of the landing pads that stood outstretched from the large middle spire.
It was then that Arthur now noticed some other dragons. He also noticed that none of the others was as large as this particular beast. Mighty horns curved forward at the front of its head.
A set of menacing fangs slightly peeked from beneath its bottom and top scaly maw and a pair of golden reptilian eyes intelligently scanned the school. The students standing at the platform parted quickly to give the gargantuan beast the space to land.
'Wow, a fully grown Red dragon!' one of the students on the RuneTrain mused.
They watched as three smaller versions of its kind landed on other pads. On their backs, they carried students, some dressed in crimson robes while a few others were dressed in normal robes.
"Stop gawking, First Years and get out of the RuneTrains. Don't forget your luggage for those of you that will be joining the boarding section. The RuneTrain returns at dusk to take commuters back to Alcove. So, don't be late. Make sure…"
"Arthur! You can let go of my hand now," Lucy snapped the prince out of his trance.
Arthur looked at his hand and quickly released the girl's dainty hand from his firm grip. Quickly masking the nerves that threatened to grip him, he stared at her hand with concern. Her pale skin was tinged red from his firm grip.
"I'm sorry. I…"
"Don't worry about it. I'll just… visit the School Nurse later," Lucy replied. The prince stood up and strained to pull his bag from the luggage rack.
When he'd retrieved his bag, he turned to the seat Lucy had been in.
She was gone.
'Hmm, might have been in a rush to meet someone,' the prince thought to himself, pulling his phone from his pocket. He was about to dial Darius' number when a boy bumped roughly into his shoulder.
From the force the boy had used, Arthur could tell it had been done deliberately.
'So these types exist here as well. Well, it's not like it's new. I just wish they could take a hint and pick on someone 'human' for their own good... Not like they know that,' he sighed.
Paying the 'nuisance' no attention, Arthur slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the RuneTrain. He could have sworn there were watchful eyes drilling holes through his skull. The resentful energy rolling off the owner's gaze was almost palpable.
'What's their deal?'
The prince walked to the door of the RuneTrain right before hearing a voice behind him, "Hey… White Mop…"
Arthur was out the RuneTrain before the boy inside could say anything else.
'It's bad enough that I have to blend in and keep a low profile. Now, where is Darius?' Arthur thought to himself whilst pressing the buttons on his phone. After finding the number he was looking for, he hit the call button and waited, ignoring the hum of magic that filtered out of the miniature device.
A few seconds later, a voice came through the speaker, "Hey Arthur. Don't tell me you're still getting dressed."
"Even I'm not that slow. Dar, if I'm being honest, I don't think there is anyone alive that can navigate this castle."
"Well, castles shouldn't be so new to you. Since… well, you know," Darius knew better than to mention the Phoenix castle in public.
"Yeah, I know. Both of them are awesome but this, Darius. This is something else. There is a lot of magic flowing through these walls."
"Oh, wow! You can feel that, huh?" Darius sounded surprised.
"Of course, I can. It's the hardest thing to ignore. Where will I find you?" Arthur asked.
"Well, from what I was told, we'll soon…" there was a pause and a commotion coming from the other side of the phone, "I have to go. Just try to relax. Barthlorn is large and impressive. I doubt they'd expect First Years to navigate the castle on their first day. Someone will come to get you."
The phone went silent as soon as the boy said this. Arthur stared at the phone in his hand. 'Thanks for nothing, Warlock,' the prince sighed.
A gale of wind blew a scent of ash and cinders into his white hair and face reminding him of the creatures that came to school.
While there were some impressive supernatural creatures that came to this school, none of them came close in raw power to one creature in particular.
The Red Dragons.
Arthur stared at the dragon landing a few metres ahead of him. The lizard itself was several metres long with impressive red gleaming scales and powerful limbs ending in razor-sharp talons.
Staring at the majestic creature, Arthur was entranced, gripped by both fear and awe at once.
Stuck in awe of the dragon, he almost missed the glowing light that suddenly appeared at his feet. Arthur panicked when strange writings started to appear at his feet… growing brighter and brighter with each passing second. The hum of magic filled the air.
'Wait, I've seen this before,' Arthur's eyes widened in shock.
He dashed away from the light and watched as runes started to rapidly manifest on the ground, as though an invisible pen was suddenly writing out a spell. They went around in a circle until it was complete. Two more circles of runes appeared within the larger one spinning in opposite directions.
Once the circle was complete a gust of wind blew outwards and in one swoosh, a gathering of students dressed in dark blue robes appeared from thin air.
Some were holding books while others were tying up their suitcases. A few were checking their requirements. They dressed in odd robes, some wearing pointy witch hats. A few of them even had pets.
Upon taking a closer look, the prince noticed older people with them, probably their parents. 'Warlocks… I've never seen a family of them.'
Similar circles began to appear all over the place and he watched some other large groups of students appear from thin air.
'Teleportation Circles. Dragons. RuneTrains. What else am I going to see here?' Arthur chuckled, 'Barthlorn is surely something else. I already knew this but somehow nothing compared to seeing this all in real life.'
Just then, a loud feminine voice called out, "All First Years here for the Sorting, gather at the centre of the Landing pad quickly."