Before any confrontation could take place the lights of the hall were dimmed, a spotlight was aimed toward the stage. All eyes turned towards the light and waited for what was to happen.
Silence.
The hall was silent, any conversations or near confrontations stopped and all eyes turned to wait for what would happen.
Riken looked at the spotlight in anticipation waiting for what spectacle would be seen, he blinked and just as the light was on it was now off. He wondered what was happening but before he could think, the light was back on and there on the stage was a man that everyone knew and could not forget.
There on the stage stood the King, His Majesty and The Radiant. Edward Trostier.
He had sharp green eyes and jet black hair, he was surprisingly handsome despite being old, he stood at a height of 6'4 towering over those who were shorter than him and exuded a demanding aura. Riken was awe struck at the sight of the King, he never thought he would ever see the King with his own eyes let alone be in his presence.
He looked around to see if anyone else was having the same reaction as he was but it seemed they didn't care about seeing him, however that would all change within a few moments. The King lifted his hand and from it was a bright yet somehow dark flame, it was dark blue and the flame could be felt by Riken even though he was at the far back of the hall.
This display had shifted the mood of the Initiate Radiants, those who weren't listening had adopted an attentive attitude and those who were talked had focused on The King, Riken looked around the hall scanning for the girl and before long he had found her, she looked as if this was nothing new to her and in fact she looked like she didn't really care about what was happening.
"Welcome young Radiants!"
The King spoke with a cheerful attitude.
"This academy is dedicated to nurturing young Initiate Radiants like yourselves, I was once like you, I was lost and scared in the Trials of the Awn and the Slumber. Instead of giving up, I fought and fought with all my might just to survive and here I am standing in front of you all!"
The King went on to speak about various things ranging from his life and the troubles of being a King. Riken listened attentively all the way up to the end and what the king said next could not prepare him.
"Now all students, each of you should come one by one and place your hand on the altar, this shall determine your class and rank."
The broke out into murmurs, some happy and some angry. Those who were angry felt as though their privacy was being breached and they felt unsafe, and for those who were happy, well they were confident that they were strong and so they wanted to show off to the King.
Riken stood there wondering if he was going to be exposed, if his powers were going be laughed at or if he was going to be exploited. His mind raced with all these thoughts, however that was interrupted by the King's beckoning voice,
"When you place your hand on the altar different colours will be given off by it
White is Weak
Light blue is Average
Red is Above Average
and
Purple is Stellar!"
All students were excited and each one stepped up one by one to take the exam. After a while, the girl stepped up and Riken watched as she placed her hand on the altar slowly, the colour change was getting more and more vibrant.It was purple. Riken was shocked, he thought to himself that he would never be able to catch up to her, let alone be in the same class.
Everyone was shocked at the sight of purple and some didn't care like they were expecting it. Riken was more curious about her identity, he wondered who she was, where she came from but before he could even think there was another vibrant purple being emitted from the altar. This one shocked everyone, it was a girl who looked delicate and fragile, she had blonde hair and green eyes, everyone was captivated by her looks even more than what she had achieved.
Before long it was Riken's turn, he was nervous and scared. He walked up to the altar and placed his left hand on it and closed his eyes not wanting to see his result. He heard a few gasps and mutters in the sea of students. He opened one and the other, he could not believe what he had just gotten.
It was nothing.
He looked at the King and he was equally as shocked and gestured for Riken to do a retry. Riken placed his hand on the altar again and the result remained the same. Riken was disheartened at the sudden revelation of this, he walked of the stage with his head held down and his eyes glued to the floor.
He could hear the occasional murmurs of the students mocking him which fueled his somber moment, he looked and the girl and she just stared at him in shock. That's when he ran and ran until he 'fell' on a students shoe, in reality he just got tripped up by that guy who stopped him earlier in his track as he was on his way to speak to the girl.
This enraged Riken. He was embarrassed, sad and even worse, he was PISSED!
He grab the stupid looking guy by his collar but before he could do anything the King had intervened. He had somehow managed to reach the two from the stage all the way to the end of the hall. The King was disappointed by this behaviour and gave the two boys a stern warning. Just how he appeared the King was back on the stage and he explained the classes each students would go to depending on the colour they got. Each class was named by the colour.
Riken was crestfallen because he had no class and he wondered if he even belonged here. The King dismissed everyone apart from Riken and the girl, Riken was mortified by this outcome. The two stared at each other and then at the King. For some reason he was happy.
The king walked over to the girl and patted her head and asked all sorts of questions, however,Riken was confused as to what relationship the two had. He considered a weird though but quickly dismissed it because of its strange nature.
The King walked over to Riken with a grin that spanned from ear to ear, he said,
"This is my daughter, Layla and from now on the two of you shall be classmates!"
Riken was confused and shocked but he didn't show it all. His face was blank but his mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts the main one being,
"What the F-"
But before he could think any further the King spoke and spoke and spoke.
The main things he said was that, what Riken had just experienced was a common sign of being Stellar and that many Initiate Radiants had experienced it before. Riken took in all the information and closed his eyes for a moment, and bye the time he had opened them The King had already left and he saw Layla leaving.
He ran after and asked,
"Hey where'ya going?"
She ignored his whole existence and just kept walking. Riken was dejected but he kept following her in hopes that he would at least be lead to his new classroom. He was right because in front of him was a large golden plaque that stood on the side of the black and gold door it read:
Stellar Compound
He was excited and nervous to enter and before he could say anything a voice spoke,
"Hurry up."
It was Layla, as she walked in the class he followed after and all eyes were on them both. Many of the class members were expecting him and most were shocked by the two walking together. He looked around wondering where to sit and saw her calling him to sit with her. He was confused at why she was helping him but he accepted it and sat next to her. Minutes later their class teacher came inside and it was the same man who had came to Riken's house and advised him in the car.
Riken was glad to see a familiar face and instead of being glad too the man was shocked and even irritated by Riken and his current seating position. After the teacher left, Layla explained that the class teacher was a friend of her father and her teacher who taught her when she was young . Riken listed gladly and couldn't help but wonder why she was being so nice to him but he just accepted what was going on and adjusted to his new life.
Of course nothing could beat being next to a beauty. He was elated and looked out the window wondering when the day would end