There's a downfall to reading history books, they weren't the best place to source current affairs which made sense. Problem was that all Vinnandra ever read was history books, as for current affairs, if the maids weren't gossiping, her introverted self hardly knew about what was going on in their world.
Just like how she didn't know who the mad trio were, or just how popular the trifecta bond was. But she knew that name, Stormward. Not only did she know the name of the royalty ruling in the east, but she happened to know their century old ancestor—Elara Stormward.
History wrote of her as a fierce, fearless woman who had led the second Great War against the witches when they invaded Brienda castle at the east. With her formidable dragon—a purebred Dundare blood whose ability to cause pain extended to over a hundred people at a minute—Elara was a name that struck fear in the hearts of the Vale when they heard of her. Her might was unquestioned and staunched.
After experiencing war for fifty years, and leading one for thirty years of her life, Elara wrote the book on Art of War that became a crucial instrument in reforming Dragonia into a stronger country.
Part of the book's purpose was to usher in the implementation of the trifecta bond, a purpose which was met with fierce rejection by the lords who believed it to be a stain to their noble bloods. In Elara's own words in the Art of War, she had written thus;
"Nothing boils my blood like when I hear that yet another dragon rider has gone missing. Our enemy is vicious, they take our people and use them as objects of their sorceries to enable their witch-spies to infiltrate us.
I've thought hard on how to soothe the pain of the families affected by this affair, but no idea comes to mind except plain ole revenge. My heart says, take their people too! Use thy enemy!"
Those words, equal parts of patriotism and vengeance thrilled Vinnandra. It made her respect Elara Stormward deeply, consequently she had digested her book on the Art of War.
At least, Elara fought for a great cause, and she had her way despite strong objections. Today, the east had the most number of witches and trifecta bonds… It was also a strategic location for warfare and military operations seeing as the Brienda fortress, a strategic military location and boundary was also located there.
"By now, you should know that while there might be a thousand of you, only a hundred, or even less will make it through the doors of the Academy."
The man whom Vinn later found out was Malone Stormward continued saying, meanwhile, Marenda the witch still had a crazed look in her eyes, but her body didn't show the effort it took to hold the spell. "In ten minutes, you all will start filing into the hall for the first test." Malone concluded, leaving behind the podium and the thousands of candidates behind it.
"You're… her." The gushing boy from before now had his attention, once on the mad trio on Vinn, together with his clique. Normally, in such situations, she had learnt how to ignore the pointed stares directed at her hair, so she did as she usually did…she averted her eyes.
"Oh the gods! Vinnandra Albridge?" The other girl beside the boy exclaimed, looking at Vinn with something akin to awe.
Vinn didn't bother correcting her that she was no longer an Albridge. What was the use when her admission name spelt so.
"Well, no other person has red hair now do they." She said, figuring that as introverted as she was, it wouldn't hurt to pry more information about the mad trio.
"No," the girl said, her eyes still shining with awe which confused Vinn greatly. "I am Thalia Starfire." She introduced herself, her arm outstretched for a handshake. Vinn hesitated, and then took her hands in hers.
The Starfire's were lesser lords in the west, and Vinn only knew that because she was the only one crazy enough to know all the names of the not less than one hundred lesser lords in all of Dragonia. She couldn't help it, after reading through the list, the names stuck and refused to leave her memory.
The boy shoved Thalia aside and outstretched his palm for a handshake too. "And I am Kaelan… Kaelan Baldrig." He introduces himself, and Vinn almost mirrored the look of Shock on Thalia's face.
"You're a Baldrig…" Thalia muttered under her breath. The Baldrig's were one of the two ruling powers in the west.
"So you're a royalty." Vinn simply says, shaking his hands too. The boy looked anything but royalty though. It could be Vinn being too simple minded, but he had not the grace, or snobbish looks royalties possessed. The boy scratched the back of his neck.
"Well, I'm the last child out of ten children." He says blushing.
Ahhh.
"What do you know of the mad trio?" Vinn asked Kaelan, trying her best to not look like she was dying of curiosity. The boy startled like he wasn't expecting the question, then quickly collects himself, scratching his hair uncomfortably and says, "well about everything everyone knows."
Which meant he had no information.
"Marenda is a witch descendant of the Akira Tribe in the Vale." Thalia answers, "They're known to be particularly vicious, and also known for their ability to use mind sorcery to control extreme weather conditions. Bonded to Malone and his formidable Dundare indirect descendant dragon, Mavena, the three make a crazy trio."
"But still, how could she stop the Blizzard just like that?" Vinn inquires. It was too much, was it not? To automatically stop a raging weather with one's mind.
"Because she started it," Kaelan answers, his eyes shining of an unshed secret. In a low voice he continues, "when I got here, I overheard one of the staff saying that the admission council tasked the mad trio with eliminating at least a quarter of the applicants. They knew most of the applicants don't ride accomplished dragons but transport dragons instead so the mad trio decided to kick up a blizzard. As I am speaking to you, more than five hundred applicants are either lost in the blizzard, met with an accident, or are dead."
His last words gave Vinn the chill. The thought that she could have easily died before the test began was a fact she didn't find funny.
"But a blizzard is too much for just the three of them to handle is it not?" Vinn pressed on.
"Of course, Marenda alone, even with her bondeds can't handle creating a Blizzard of such great effect. It took weeks of the combined powers and planning of the witches stationed in the east… Marenda only had to activate the blizzard and control it with their bond."
Wow. Vinn knew it before, but now she was seeing first hand for the first time how powerful the witches were… and how more powerful the trifecta bond could be. She still had a lot of questions, but knew there was no time for them.
Kaelan was about to ask Vinn something, probably in relation to all the controversies she had been embroiled in, when a dragon rider announced that ten minutes was up and they should all stand in four queues of East, West, South and North. Vinn had to stand distastefully in the southern queue. Each queue had at least three hundred applicants and the checking in process was pretty quick.
Before another ten minutes elapsed, they were all seated in the largest hall she had ever seen for the first test. Paper and quill was already on each table so everything was about ready.
"For the first tests we will be writing an essay," Malone Stormward announced from a high table, "and the essay topic is 'Why Dragonia will Never Win Against Witches."
Vinn felt the shock in the stunned silence everyone was feeling, but no one dared to grumble or even look around for fear of being disqualified.
And just like that, the first test began.