Zenyph kept staring at her. He couldn't help but imagine himself holding her hand. Hugging her. Kissing her. Doing whatever he wants to her. He craved her. It's only been a couple minutes since he saw her yet he couldn't bear to look away.
"I'll find you after this is done." muttered Zenyph softly as he leaned back in his seat while closing his eyes focusing all his energy into locating the girl who captured his interest.
A loud bang echoed throughout the room startling everyone except for Zenyph. His eyes remained shut tight as he concentrated completely on searching for her presence.
Suddenly the familiar feeling of being watched returned to him. He glances upwards where he noticed the mysterious beauty standing right across from him, smirking faintly while staring at him.
For a brief moment there seemed to exist an invisible connection between the two individuals sharing mutual interest and fascination for one another. The tension between the two could practically be cut with a knife.
The girl looked at Lynette and back to Zenyph.
"Prince Zenyph it's a surprise seeing you here. According to the rumors you should be passed out drunk in the arms of several courtesans. I guess rumours are always half true. Why is it that whenever I hear about you I always get disappointed?" the girl spoke out loud and clear while walking closer to Zenyph.
"What are you actually doing here? Please enlighten me. " she said.
"I am a student. Same as you are. Believe it or not I'm a completely different person now. I won't disappoint you in the future." Zenyph replied confidently while maintaining eye contact with the mysterious stranger.
"You're the son of Drakonhart? How did you manage to stay alive and enter the academy when there are countless people who wish to put an end to the Drakonhart's lineage. Many even consider them scum and trash. Especially the first prince and the third prince who are both mad dogs who like to pick fights with others. To be honest you are also a disappointment."
Zenyph was speechless. He never expected to meet someone who would talk to him in such a manner. He was about to defend himself but Lynette beat him to it.
"Who the fuck are you to speak to my master like that? Are you some sort of idiot? You dare call royalty scum and trash? Are you planning on committing suicide tonight?" Lynette snapped viciously lashing out in anger at the insolent girl before her.
"Oh? I didn't notice you Lynette Shadowthorne. What happened to your fangs? Did you get neutered?"
"Shut your fucking mouth. If I wasn't tasked with protecting my master I wouldn't hesitate to slice your throat right now. Do you think just because your father is the Minister of War means you can do whatever the hell you want? How delusion are you? " Lynette retorted fiercely while glaring at the girl who dared insult her master.
"We're equals now. At least here in Nexus Royal Academy. So show me some respect. Don't get on my bad side. Or else... "
Zenyph found the whole interaction amusing. He had never seen Lynette so angry before. Usually she would keep her cool and remain calm at all times.
"Now now you two. There's no need for us to be hostile towards each other. Let's relax and listen to the Headmistress speech. We can continue our conversation afterwards." Zenyph said interrupting the argument between the two women.
As he said that, the whole room went quiet as if it was forbidden to talk. It reminded Zenyph of his meeting with Luciana. Everyone was staring at the center stage.
Headmistress Arietta Sylviana stepped out and cleared her throat.
"Welcome students! Welcome to Nexus Royal Academy! Today marks the first day of your life at Academy! Here you will be shaped and molded into fine members of society who will one day lead the Empire and kingdoms to greatness! Through rigorous training and discipline you will acquire knowledge and skills that will benefit you for the rest of your life. And when you graduate you will return to your home cities as heroes! I expect each and every one of you to strive to achieve perfection. Only then will you truly earn the right to live proudly and prosperously! The seven Cynosure's and I are looking forward to seeing each one of you succeed. But before that we have
Some announcements to make. First off let's introduce our seven Cynosure's. Each Cynosure will represent one of the seven races of Eldrithia.
Standing next to me on my right is the leader of the human race and the director of the Enchantment Department. The head of House Pendragon. Aurelian Pendragon.
An old man with white hair and wrinkles all over his face stepped forwards from the line of Cynosure's. He had piercing green eyes that seem to pierce through one's soul itself. His lips curved upwards forming a smile revealing his perfectly white teeth. His hands rested comfortably upon his cane that had a silver lion head crafted on its handle. His robes were made out of silk and were decorated with golden threads depicting a pattern resembling a lion.
"Next to him is, Cynosure of Elf, Fiona Everglen."
Fiona had long flowing golden blonde hair flowing freely down to her waist. Her pale skin contrasted nicely against her emerald eyes that shone brightly underneath the dim lights illuminating the auditorium. Her slender figure could easily be mistaken as a model from Earth. Her simple yet elegant emerald green robe seemed to complement her natural beauty perfectly.
"On her right is Cynosure of the Dwarves. Draven Emberstone.
Draven stood nearly three feet tall with broad shoulders and muscular arms. His bushy beard reached past his navel while his head sported thick eyebrows framing small brown eyes set in a square jaw. He wore a thick fur cloak covering most of his body with a matching hat perched atop his head.
"To my left is Cynosure of Angel's. Ravena Luminara."
Ravena was the tallest woman Zenyph had ever seen. Standing at eight feet tall she dwarfed most men and women present in the auditorium. She had bright blue eyes that glowed brilliantly and platinum blonde hair falling loosely behind her back reaching down to her ankles.
"Next to her is Cynosure of Beastkin, Kara Nocturne."
Kara had black fur with streaks of grey running down her arms and legs. Her tail moved slowly from side to side occasionally curling upwards. Her ears twitched constantly while her yellow eyes observed everyone around her carefully. Her tail brushed against her thigh repeatedly indicating she was nervous about something.
"Standing to her side is Cynosure of Vampire, Serene Bloodthorne"
Serene had pale skin which stood out in stark contrast against her crimson eyes. Her raven black hair framed her delicate facial features perfectly making her appear much younger than she actually was. She wore a black cloak covering most of her body leaving only her arms and legs exposed. Her nails were painted red and she wore black lipstick which complimented her appearance well.
"And finally Cynosure of Dragons. Celestia Nightshade"
Celestia wore a long flowing white gown adorned with gold ornaments. Her silky white hair cascaded down past her shoulders reaching just above her chest. She had crystal blue eyes that seemed to shine brightly under the light shining overhead. She had pale white skin which contrasted nicely with her dark red lips. She smiled warmly at everyone present in the auditorium before turning to face the Headmistress.
"Each of these seven leaders represented one of the seven races of Eldrithia. Together they formed the ruling body of the Nexus Royal Academy.
"I hope most of you listened carefully to what I said, they are here only to represent their respective races. There will be no special favours granted to anyone. Not even the dragons. And especially, the son of his majesty Notos Drakonhart. In this academy royalty is worthless, but of course when you graduate, the consequences will follow you. "
Arietta grinned wickedly as she delivered her message.
"Anyways! The real reason why I gathered everyone here today is to tell you all about our unique system. At the academy you will be protected from outside influence. However students are allowed to fight, torture and kill one another. Third years are allowed to kill first years and vice versa. You can happily go on a killing spree but I doubt you'd get to live to see the next morning. This special rule compliments our class ranking system. Each class will begin with a certain amount of points, whenever someone from Class A kills someone from class B they get positive points. If you kill someone from your own class you get negative points. The class with the highest points get special privileges, classes with less points get the standard treatment. Every 10 days, a duel will be held between classes of the same grade. There will be special duels where classes from different grades can participate. Every month there will be a bounty on someone that's worth 20 times more."
"I forgot to mention if someone from your class dies, points get deducted. If your class points fall under a certain number, the entire class will be killed."
The atmosphere was tense. No one had expected such rules considering they were of noble descent.
Zenyph couldn't believe what he had just heard. He knew he'd have to face harsh environments but this is just insane. He could be dead tomorrow.
"Of course this is all hypothetical. Most likely no one will die at the academy. I know what you all are thinking. You're wondering why we decided to implement this barbaric system. Well let me tell you. The academy is a place where we nurture talent. We want to see which individuals are capable of achieving greatness. We don't care about your backgrounds. You can be a prince or princess but if you die at the academy that's your fault. Anyone can challenge anyone. And when we say anyone we mean it. That includes teachers and staff members. However teachers have a limit to what they can do. They cannot kill students nor harm them severely. They also cannot accept bribes. I know there will be cases where you may feel discriminated against. But let me assure you that if such situations arise we will intervene immediately.
Now let us proceed to discuss your daily schedules. First years will start off by attending lessons with professors who teach various subjects related to magic and martial arts. Second and third years will spend their time studying theory while practicing practical techniques.
"Now it's time to announce our bounty of the month."
Everyone was listening attentively. Everyone wanted to know who the unfortunate individual that would be targeted would be.
"This month's bounty is the prince of dragons. Zenyph Drakonhart."