Amy had enjoyed her new classes so far. After taking so many lessons and classes on things she already knew, it is refreshing to learn something she hasn't learned before. She had to catch up with others including Selim.
"By the way, I heard that a Hekaton Prince is gonna come to this academy for a student exchange program." Sabina said while in the lounge.
"Prince?" Viola said distastefully,
Amy remembered from Viola's letters that Hekaton asked for one of them to come to their country but was refused. It was a bit of a sore spot that someone with the same powers as their founder was not of their nationality.
"Which prince?" Melissa asked.
"Right Prince Alphonso," she replied.
The school is open to student exchange programs for the entire school year. For the Magic academy, it is in their 4th or 5th year. After that, they will go participate as novice mages to get some field training before becoming fully acknowledged mages. In their first year, she saw some of the foreign exchange students but none of them were royals until now.
"When are they arriving?" Nathaniel asked.
"Less than a week actually."
Hekaton is not like most other royal families. The country is co-ruled by the left and right rulers who share power into ruling the state. The power is shared interchangeably between the two depending on the ruler's talents and aspirations. But both share executive power and they both discuss things together and compromise. Since the government decisions were made by a small group, decisions were made quite swiftly. The two rulers currently get along but, in the future, they will be butting heads. Legend has it that Hekaton's two sons were vying for the throne but Hekaton himself decide to divide the rule between the two as their unshared combined talents would make the kingdom great. Since then, the system of having two rulers remained. The royal children who show the most talent, merit and values would be the next ruler.
The current Left Ruler is King Cesare, and his heir is the future queen Evangeline. The current Right Ruler is Queen Marguarite, and her heir is Crown Princess Georgina though Amy doesn't recognize her name meaning that the throne would go to someone else. The other ones are future King Anthony and Prince Alphonso.
In the original story, Evangeline was a force to be reckon with. Despite the shameful fat-shaming and underestimation on her character, she is formidable. She is an excellent administrator, ruler and surprisingly powerful as a combatant despite the disadvantages however, she is also prickly, easily offended and distrustful. She was difficult to persuade but was forced to give in after her Right counterpart was assassinated. Anthony may be future king, but he would not inherit the crown after his mother. It would actually pass on to his tyrannical uncle who would later be killed. As for Alphonso, she has no idea who he is, so it is clear that he won't be important.
"Hey, Leon! You've meet delegations from the other kingdoms. How is Right Prince Alphonso like?" Theseus asked.
Leon expressed a thoughtful look, "Well... he's not like his quivering brother."
"Rude," Nathaniel commented.
"He's a bit of a prick but at least his brother has skill. This one doesn't."
Then the door slammed open, and a second-year name Jacob Nightingale came in with a stack of newspapers, surprising everyone.
"Something big happened! Grab a paper and see for yourself."
Everyone hurried to grab a paper, but Sabina is the fastest and got a few before the crowd started forming. She passed them out which got Amy curious. Her eyes widened in shock.
MASSACRES ALL OVER THE WORLD!! FIFTEEN SETTLEMENTS ANNIHILATED!
Oh no! It's started! She fearfully thought.
According to the newspaper, several communities have been destroyed. Karnei has got the least amount, but the one hit hardest is currently Getel. There are barely any survivors and the ones that did survive are unable to explain what happened nor could they see the entity.
"Terios Region? That's not so far from home." Melissa murmured.
The room is filled with constant chatter now.
Terios Region is a mountainous area located in both the Orlando Province and the Fin Province. That mountainous area is a natural barrier between Getel and Solin. Considering how far news travel, this all happened weeks ago.
Then a professor entered the lounge. He has an athletic physique, currently hidden by his clothing, slick-back grey hair and a cleanly shaven face. It was Professor Donovan who teaches Physical Education.
"May I have your attention please! Due to recent events, there will be new rules that will be implemented starting today. The changes will be minor and for the sake of all individuals living here, there will be no monthly visits to nearby towns until further notice and that includes the valedictorian and prefect privileges. The barriers and security will be heavily enforced so you will notice some irregularities. And to ensure your protection even further, the arriving exchange students will be sharing the Sun Dorm this year."
That resulted in a collective groan. The Sun dorm has plenty of room to spare but the concept of bringing home with them goes too far. For example, Damat loves their incense and exotic scents and not everyone appreciates it. Getel children bring their pets over and it's not even something cute, they are dangerous. Apparently, it is tradition that having a dangerous pet around is like having an earthly guardian angel in a world where monsters could attack them at every turn. Hekaton always wake up at sunrise and carries a magic bell that rings almost every time of the day, loud enough to wake the entire academy up.
*
"And that's what happened?" Amy said while talking with Selim at an archery range.
"That sounds dangerous."
She sighed. "It pretty much is. I don't think a lot of people believe the story even if I explain it."
She looked at her palm where she left nail marks on that she made out of anger.
"So those weapons of yours, where did you get them?"
"I knew a blacksmith and he created those items. I have been practicing different weapons since I was five. The spear and staff are my specialty weapons, but the reason that it is my specialty weapon is because it is a long-ranged weapon. I tried to combat it with other weapons."
"Most of those weapons are long ranged. The tomahawk was a bit unexpected though. Are you trying to copy Solin himself?"
"Not exactly. He uses a battle axe while I have a smaller one."
She grabbed the blue tomahawk and threw it at a nearby target, hitting the bullseye.
"It's rare for anyone to use a tomahawk as a weapon in societies like ours but to me, it is just an experiment."
The original one was given to Colin, so she commissioned another one to be made.
*
The rest of the day doesn't give her time to be alone much less plan.
"Join my club!" Leon suggests.
Amy cringed in confusion and quickly closed her book.
Amy looked at Leon with a stern look, seeing he is not joking or acting like his usual self.
"Viola mentioned that you are starting a club. What exactly are you planning? I don't think anyone would be interested considering the events happening right now."
He waved his hand nonchalantly and began floating in the air. Amy glanced at him.
"You're right so I think that we should change things up. The conspiracy club would be nice. We can investigate and figure out about this strange thing and train ourselves against it."
"Why got you so interested anyway?"
"Mother believes that I should return back to the Palace." He said in a dissatisfied tone, "I said no." he finished with a smirk, "Everyone else already joined in. I need at least eight people to start a club and you're the last one. Anyone is free to join in of course."
Amy admits this sounds stupid but at the same time, she is curious how this will go.
"Alright, I'll join."