While Endyr and Sia were struggling to comprehend the fact that an entire metropolis city was, in fact, an Academy, Jace decided to keep moving towards their destination. Much to the chagrin of his two charges, Jace kept hurrying them on and didn't let them sight-see. Endyr and Sia spent the journey desperately craning their necks to try and take in as much as possible, gawking at practically everything despite Jace's warnings on the contrary. Endyr's focus was primarily taken up by the large number of lights and Mana in the atmosphere. While he couldn't see Mana, Ascenders could feel it in large amounts. If Fellise was a lightbulb, then the Academy was a never-ending explosion.
Practically every building in the Academy had special Mana lights attached to them, and lampposts were set up at even intervals too. Electricity in the sense of electronics did not exist, as everything ran on Mana instead. One could you Mana to create lightning as use that as power of course, but most just used neutral Mana instead. The most vital and important of places on the Gaia Continent even used the ludicrously expensive Aether to power themselves, marking them as the uppermost elite. The main part of the Academy also ran on Aether, though it was usually kept in reserve for special events or emergencies.
Jace stopped before a shop with clothes showcased in the window, mainly suits and dresses. A large number of people were entering and exiting the shop, and there were two security guards in special uniform keeping order at the door. Endyr tilted his head back and squinted, internally measuring the height of the shop, for it was one of the larger buildings amongst what he had seen so far. Above the door, the words [Verons' Attire and Garments] were displayed on a sign in gold. Clearly, this shop fashioned towards the wealthy and noblesse.
Despite the large influx of customers, the shop seemed to be big enough to accommodate them all, so the queue was quite small. After only a few minutes, the trio were ushered inside. For the umpteenth time in one day, Sia and Endyr stared gobsmacked at what entailed them inside. As far as the eye could see, rows of clothes and mannequins stood and the inside of the shop seemed as busy as the streets outside. As he saw the amount of customers, Endyr couldn't help but ask "Isn't there a few too many people compared to the building size?"
"Verons' is unique in not only its customer base, but also how it operates. It employs the use of Spatial Magic, meaning that the inside of their stores are larger than the outsides. We actually walked through a type of portal instead of a normal door" Jace lazily explained. Endyr and Sia looked at him in admiration, impressed by his knowledge. "What, you surprised I know something as common as that?" Jace asked in annoyance. Sia nodded and answered earnestly "You do seem quite thick at times, so its a surprise how much you actually know." To the side, Endyr tried to stifle his laughter but he failed, causing Jace's face to twitch "Shut it and get a move on brats."
Endyr was guided to a certain section of the shop that seemed to deal with Academy uniforms. It was the busiest part of the store, no doubt because of the upcoming semester. Jace picked out two uniforms, one for a boy and another for a girl, with familiar ease. Before passing them on to Endyr and Saia, he gazed at them and sighed. "I still remember my Academy days like they were yesterday..." he reminisced, before snapping out of it and carrying on. Endyr took his uniform and scrutinised it carefully, taking in the design.
The uniform was comprised of soft grey pants, bluish-silver shirt and black blazer. A tie with a golden pin came with it, along with a pair of shiny black shoes. On the front of the blazer, an engraving of a white cross laying on a sceptre with a diamond tip was present: the Sky Cross crest. Endyr looked at it in puzzlement before turning to Jace. "I see the cross bit, but no clouds. Why is it called Sky Cross Academy then?" he asked. A strange smile flitted across Jace's face before he shrugged innocently "Who knows?"
Before Endyr could press him, Jace walked over to the cashier and he hurried after him. Sia's uniform was more or less the same as his: a knee-length skirt, shirt, blazer and tie all in the same colours. Endyr let out a tiny sigh of relief upon seeing the amount of coverage Sia received from the skirt, and his impression of the Academy went up a small notch. At the check-out, Jace flashed a card over a big, blue stone on the desk, which lit up in response. With a nod and a smile, the person manning the cashier put the uniforms in a bag and handed them over. Jace thanked them and proceeded to leave with the children in tow.
"What was that card?" Endyr asked. "A special type of payment, almost exclusively used by the ultra-rich like House Atrazark. The card has a certain amount of Mana imbued in it, with each unit correlating to a certain percentage of the owners wealth. By scanning it there, the Mana in the card was reduced and so did the money in the Atrazark bank accounts." Endyr was surprised by how sophisticated the design was. 'First a type of electricity, now bank cards...I may need to re-evaluate the technological development of this world' he mused. "How do you know if there isn't any deceit in the dealings?" he asked. Jace looked over his shoulder at him and snorted. "Only a fool would try it. Each and every card is blessed by Zephylte and Sol 'Themselves'."
Zephylte was the God of Air and Truth, while Sol was the Sun God who also possessed the title of God of Business and Deals. The two Gods got along quite well because of "Their" similar natures, and "They" were seen as the go-to entities for making contracts in Orvonia. If anyone violated a contract made in "Their" names, death was the least they would have to fear. Angering a God was the fastest way to eternal damnation known to man. There were other Gods in the market for contracts too of course, such as Fallacy and Ingrid, but people were far more hesitant to invoke "Their" names. The latter because "She" only answers if the contract in question is requested by scholars and the former because....well, Fallacy is held as the most terrifying of the Gods, Secret or Orthodox. Promises made in "His" name were also the most extreme, and those who break them are treated far worse than any other God would.
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After buying their uniforms, the trio set out to a book shop further down the same street. According to Jace, they would need the appropriate books to actually learn anything at the Academy, something which Endyr and Sia had embarrassingly forgotten about. After finding and entering the shop, Endyr was subjected to another usage of Spatial Magic, as this shop also had an enlarged interior. Though, calling it a shop did not do it justice: it was more like a library, and a large one at that. Jace noticed the look on his face and spoke up "Sylverics' is the biggest book shop in the Academy, second in knowledge only the the official Academy library. Books on basically everything can be found here, whether they be myths, Skill books, or standard information."
Endyr perked up at the second category of books available. "Skill Books?" he asked. "Books detailing what Beasts contain what Cores and Skills. The books don't give the Skills themselves sadly, just how to find them" Sia explained rather than Jace. The man in question nodded and raised an eyebrow at Sia "Raphaniel teach you that?" he inquired. Sia nodded and puffed her chest out in pride "Mother says I'm one of the fastest leaners she has ever seen!" she boasted. "The humblest too, no doubt" scoffed Jace as he walked further in the store.
The two children walked after him, looking side to side for anything that stood out. Endyr stopped before a bookshelf with the words "Myths, Legends and Folklore" written on a label. He brushed his finger against the spines as he browed quickly, knowing Jace would hurry him up any second. "Myth of Creation", "Origins of the Central Continent", "Foundation of the Gaia Continent", "List of Supernatural Beings", "War of the Orthodox and Secret Gods", "The Formation of the Tartarus Continent" and "Source of Mana" stood out the most to Endyr, the "Myth of Creation", "List of Supernatural Beings" and "Source of Mana" in particular tickled his fancy. Before he could browse more, Jace stepped up to him with an annoyed face "Leave them kid, we don't have time" he ordered.
Endyr took a deep breath before spinning around to face him, pulling the biggest "puppy face" he could. He puffed out his cheeks and forced tears to build at the corners of his eyes and clenched his fists. "Please Mister Jace, can we pretty please but these books too?" he asked cutely. Or at least he tried, for Jace physically shuddered at the sight of Endyr's "cuteness" and looked away. "Fine goddamn it, but cut that out. You trying to look possessed by an Evil God or what?!" he whispered furiously. Endyr blinked in confusion at his reaction, but obliged anyway. He happily picked out the two books and carried them. As Endyr was only 4 years old, the three relatively thick books were heavy and nearly covered his entire upper body.
As he walked, he glanced at his sister at whispered "Was I really that weird looking?". Sia pulled a face and seemed to hesitate before answering meekly "You really looked like a Demon or Devil possessed you. Your eyes were empty, and your mouth seemed unnaturally bent." At Sia's admission, Endyr was momentarily stunned. Apparently, he had absolutely no knack for acting! 'The problem seems to be my unnatural lack of motor control over my facial expressions beyond simple ones' he deduced before sighing. 'Great, why has no one ever mentioned this before?'. The answer was Endyr had naturally never pulled such expressions in the past, usually walking around with the face of a dead fish. If not for him being perfectly able to hold an intellectual conversation, Raphaniel would have had him checked for autism or some other mental disability.
Jace bought a dozen books each for the two children, and placed them inside a ring, which was apparently a sub-space, having done the same with the uniforms earlier. More and more, Endyr was realizing the prowess of Spatial Magic and how valuable it was. "It's not just Spatial Magic, stuff like this also requires a master craftsman to make. Most of them serve either Metallus, Ingrid or Consus. The other Churches have no choice but to bow their heads before them when it comes to requesting Spatial tech, even Ingrid's."
Metallus was the God of Craftmanship, while Consus was the God of Discovery. Alongside Ingrid the Goddess of Wisdom, they formed the triumvirate of Knowledge Gods on Orvonia. Endyr found it surprising that the Churches would bow before a Secret God, but he reasoned it wasn't so impossible. Ingrid was far from the worst Secret God out there, and was positively invested in the development of the various Races. But as for why "She" was shunned in the first place then, no one knew for sure. 'Perhaps the Myth of Creation has an inkling' he hoped.
After exiting the shop, Jace looked at his watch and scratched his chin in thought. "The opening ceremony begins in three days, so we should go to our hotel. You two should make use of this time to go over the first few chapters of your books, just to be safe. You should also practise getting on your uniforms while your at it, especially you" he looked at Endyr. Sia looked over the where the Academy campus was and pursed her lips "Will will be staying there once school begins or staying in the city for lodging?" she asked. "Once everything starts, you two will be given a dorm in the campus to make commuting easier. Your dorm will have other powerful Nobles, like Counts and Earls and perhaps other Dukes, so make sure to either build connections or avoid making enemies too soon."
'We'll see about the latter bit' Endyr narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Academy campus. He had a bad feeling about the Academy, and he instinctively knew that his education would not be a smooth one. 'Well then' he smiled 'Bring it on!'