Aramine Park wore a rain poncho, long, curly raven black hair complimenting her smooth caramel skin.
Magnus Berg chose to brave the eternally torrential downpour, choosing a pair of jeans and a black hoodie. He had a bed of short, radiant white hair, which contrasted his olive skin tone.
The two were close friends since childhood in New York but grew apart when they chose their professions. It brought the two great surprise to see one another boarding the bullet train to the Terrarium.
They greeted each other to their newly made friends on the bullet train and had made the journey together.
During the champions raid, the two unleashed powerful abilities and aided that strange girl in defeating the behemoths.
Now, they were sitting in the cafeteria and eating with said strange girl.
Earlier, twin brothers sat down and started eating their food in near complete silence, which weirded Aramine and Magnus a bit. Soon after the silent duo had sat down, the taller one noticed something in the distance and started calling some peoples names.
Soon after that, the two sat down, and Aramine learned that the strange girl was named Bell, and she was accompanied by an even stranger girl named Mona.
***
Bell was deeply enjoying the food on her plate.
'Great lady, thank you for this delicious food!' Bell prayed to her goddess.
She hadn't said a word since she had greeted the two that were sitting and eating with Torm and Jude.
"Do you all know who the special guest is for the Welcoming Ceremony?" Torm asked, restraining his booming voice.
Magnus perked up from his meal, with a large gulp, he said, "I heard that it's the president of Vatican City."
Bell didn't know who the president of Vatican City was, hell, she didn't know the president of her hometown!
"Really? I heard it was the Silk Weaver." Aramine said in response.
'Silk Weaver? Sounds like someone cool.' Bell thought, taking another bite of a hotdog.
Jude butted in with, "Actually, I think It's going to be Pope Joan."
Bell knew of Pope Joan, he had attained immortality sometime in the early twenty second century. He worshipped the lord of the old ages, but had also built churches for the various faiths of the new celestial bodies.
"I heard that Pope Joan got some sort of sickness. I hope he gets better soon." Mona said with a melancholy tone.
Bell didn't know if Pope Joan could get sick, but Bell trusted Mona's words.
'That kinda sucks.' Bell thought to herself.
Soon, the conversation would switch topics, and after a bit, the time to leave the cafeteria came.
The six left the cafeteria together, and after seeing Magnus simply tread through the disastrous weather, Bell created an umbrella for him.
"Thank you so much..." He said, grabbing the umbrella.
Bell smiled, "No problem!"
As they made their way down the stairs, Bell couldn't help but feel as if she were forgetting something. Something important.
'Where's those four, anyway?' Bell thought, looking around for the Erikson siblings.
They had reached the bottom layer and began walking towards the unmissable marble coliseum. Upon reaching the building, the six got lost, nearly entering the dueling grounds instead of the bleachers.
Soon, they found the right way up and found themselves in the bleachers. Bell looked around, finding that there was nearly no one in the umbrella-covered seats. Well, nobody in comparison to the sheer size of the bleachers.
There were probably a hundred or two hundred students sitting in the bleachers, with a more flowing their way into the seats. Bell and the other five found a little area to sit, and upon sitting down, Bell found the seat under her to be uncomfortably chilly.
'At least they're cushioned, I guess...' Bell thought, finding the seats to be okay.
Over the course of the next few minutes, more students would find their way into the bleachers. Bell tapped the Pathfinder on her wrist to check the time, this time, its information was simple:
[11:58 A.M.]
"We have two minutes until the Ceremony starts." Bell announced to the group.
Most of the others gave a nod or mumbling of acknowledgement, and Aramine simply gave Bell a thumbs up. They all then returned to their conversation about some new sort of boots that entered the mainstream market.
"But they're so damn pricey!" Magnus complained.
Aramine then rebutted with, "They let you fly, Magnus. Of course they're going to be expensive! What next? You're going to go to a barn and complain it smells like crap?"
Torm nodded his head and added, "That's true, the price on human wings isn't going to be low."
Jude nodded in agreement with his brother, "Just like how tickets across the ocean isn't ever cheap. There are dangers and privileges in that."
Just as Mona opened her mouth, large speakers set around the bleachers spun to life.
[Welcome, students of the Terrarium! I am Principal David, and I'll be going through the proper ceremonial procedures before we have our guest speaker join in!]
Bell turned to face the man standing on a small stage, there was a woman standing next to him, both were wearing suits. What drew Bell's attention, however, was a black veil concealing a third person.
'I wonder who that is?' Bell thought to herself.
Principal David continued to speak into his microphone.
[Greetings, you who were brave enough to challenge the Trials. We here at the Terrarium within the Heart vow to fan you aspiring embers to into infernos that burn away at the Domains.]
He started to walk around the veiled person as well as the woman standing beside him.
[We here at the Terrarium were all students at one point, having survived the four years of mandatory Domains that the Trials force upon us. Trust us when we say that we understand what you went through and are going through now.]
Teacher David started to walk at the very edge of the round platform as he spoke, enacting a balancing act as he spoke.
[In the remaining four months before the Domain of the new century takes you, we're going to teach you as much as we can. You'll be given the proper materials to float in whatever turbulent water you land in when entering that door.]
[We'll have a new guest speaker every month, the guest speaker has decided to remain anonymous until it is their time to speak. After you all sign your contracts with the Terrarium, there will be a small break to allow us the time to gather as many willing students into the arena as we can.]
[Speaking of your contract, we'll be giving you the chance to read it in its entirety, but I'll summarize it here and now. You'll be a permanent resident here for the following four years, with a summer and winter break of equal lengths.]
[You'll be accepting the job of leading students younger than you when the time comes for them to arrive. When you graduate, you will have two choices, one is to become a staff member of the Terrarium, the other is to join the military.]
[You will be making a vow of personal choice when signing the contract, this vow must be upheld, no matter what. You will be assigned a battle and training partner, but you may choose who to be partnered with instead.]
Principal David then stopped pacing around the platform and returned to the stand.
[That's the contract, and we as Terrarium staff are bound by our own clauses to help you all. Not that they're required as much these days, after a few incidents, we've grown beyond the call of duty that the contract states.]
[Anyway, we'll be having various celebrations and holidays that allow students a one-day break for the duration of the events. We'll be having festivals in the names of each event around the education layer.]
[That's about it from me, I and the press team will be updating you all on the news channels from your Pathfinders if anything comes up. For now, though, I'm going to be giving the microphone to Vice-Principal Hestia!]
Bell became keenly aware of the raindrops gently tapping against the umbrellas above their seats. She also became aware of how dry the platform was despite the lack of umbrella or other mechanism preventing rainfall around them.
'Maybe one of their Fragments?' Bell wondered.
The woman on the platform, Vice-Principal Hestia, traded places with Principal David. She cleared her throat away from the microphone before speaking. Her voice was as smooth as silk and as soft as a stream.
[Good morning, well, afternoon, students of the Terrarium. In just a few minutes, I'll be distributing the contracts that you all will be signing. Before that, however, I'll be explaining a few rules and a few of the events that will be happening in the coming fall and winter months.]
She started pacing around as well, the both of them didn't seem to keen on simply standing still. Either way, it kept Bell intrigued through the action of keeping her eye on the speaker.
[The first rule of the Terrarium: Stewardship, we have practices that you will all learn through your time here. We are the stewards of the old way, as such a way has led to the most students surviving the horrors of the Domains.]
[The second rule of the Terrarium is that we are fair and just with one another. We all keep our moral compasses in practice, and you will not tolerate breaches in that moral compass.]
[One of the few things we keep when entering the Domains is our minds, it is the sharpest tool we get outside of our body. Keep yours honed by nearly any cost, if your mind dulls, you will die.]
[Onto the third rule of the Terrarium, respect. We will respect the rules that our peers enact upon themselves, and will respect the traditions that they participate in. We do not tolerate favoritism, as it is a great disrespect to all of those who are near.]
[There are many other types of respect, such as honesty, as we respect each other enough to do the bare minimum of not lying. You can ask anybody in the second year and further up about the rules of this place, they can tell you what you need to know.]
[Outside of those three main rules, there are others, but not many are worth mentioning.]
Vice-Principal Hestia then stopped pacing near the stand and conjured a rapier, the point of which she stabbed into the ground.
[We have one practice that is honored by all, however, and that is the practice of the duel. We respect might in these walls, and the many forms that might takes. You may be weak, but have a strong mind, that is might. You may be dumb, but have will, that is might. You may not have will or mind, but pure strength, that is might.]
She then raised her sword and slowly pointed it at the various students in the bleachers.
[To engage in a duel, both parties must draw a dull or rounded weapon, then point it at one another. Then, a willing proctor must be present to officiate and begin the duel. Upon incapacitation or loss of will continue, the duel will end. If either party continues in either case, they are to be punished to the greatest power we hold.]
Vice-Principal Hestia dismissed her weapon, the form of it changing into thousands of scarlet butterflies that funneled into her heart.
[Now, it is time for the signing of your contract, and the sealing of your fate... at least for the next eight or so years.]
She placed the microphone into her left hand, then raised her right hand in a closed fist, as if holding forward a parchment.
[I will utter the chant once, then will lead you all afterword. Be very careful with the wording, there can be accidents if you aren't careful.]
Vice-Principal Hestia cleared her throat before speaking. This time, not into her microphone, but her voice was carried across the giant coliseum nevertheless.
"I beg of thee, spirit of the Heart,"
"Grant me what I require."
"The contract which I must sign,"
"And the ink which I must use."
"I beg of thee, spirit of the Heart,"
"Grant this upon me."
She cleared her throat once more before speaking into the microphone.
[Do not utter any other spirit, as that will just invite one of the few malevolent creatures into the Terrarium. We've already had to clean up four messes since June, and I'd rather not have to kill anything if I don't have to.]
Vice-Principal Hestia had been slowly walking around the platform once more as she spoke, garnering the attention of a few more students as she spoke.
[Now, I will speak one line at a time, and you will follow me.]
Once again, she spoke not into the microphone, but into the sky. The sky started to amplify her voice once more.
"I beg of thee, spirit of the Heart,"
Bell cleared her throat before joining the chant.
"Grant me what I require."
Bell's voice felt slightly strained, as if the words were using more strength than she was aware of.
"The contract which I must sign,"
Her voice continued to feel strained, like she was yelling instead of simply speaking.
"And the ink which I must use."
Her throat dried up slightly, like she had not had a drink of water in hours, instead of a mere half an hour.
"I beg of thee, spirit of the Heart,"
Bell's voice cracked as she spoke "Heart."
"Grant this upon me."
"-Grant this upon me." Bell had managed to finish the saying.
In front of her, a parchment appeared, and a fountain pen next to a small bottle of ink.
'Ow. Ow, ow, ow, ow.' Bell repeated in her mind, holding her throat.
She looked around to find the rest of the students in similar states. The only one seeming less affected was Aramine Park, the strange girl with the poncho. Bell was almost tempted to copy the rain poncho and create one with a different pattern in the future.
Bell chased those thoughts away before turning to face the parchment again.
After a few moments of quickly scanning the clauses that bound the individual and the Terrarium together, Bell dipped the fountain pen in the ink.
'Sounds about right.' Bell thought. 'Now, for the vow...'
She sat in her chair for a few moments with her pen raised just above the signature line.
'This is kind of hard... hmm.'
Bell then had a lightbulb light up somewhere in the dark warehouse of her mind. Then, the pen in her hand met the parchment.
She found the pen hard to write with, seeing as how she held the parchment against her lap and her unfamiliarity with the type of pen she used. After a bit, her poor signature was barely legible, but it was on there.
Bell expected something to happen to the contract, but found that it stayed in her lap.
'Aw man, I thought it would've exploded into like, a ball of smoke before going away or something...' Bell lamented.
[Oh, also, you must smear a small amount of your blood on the paper to seal the deal. You already have the tool required to draw your blood; I believe in you!]
Hestia's voice rang out from the speakers all around the stadium, and Bell finally realized why she hadn't felt anything strange occur.
'The contract hasn't been finished!' Bell exclaimed in her mind.
Bell decided to summon the dagger from her dream, it's strange pattern and material materializing after Bell activated Creation. The pale dagger looked as enchanting as it had in her dream, and also looked as deadly as it had been as well.
Without as much as a second thought, Bell drew the dagger against her left palm before pocketing the weapon. Immediately after, Bell pushed her right thumb into the pooling blood, then lifted the thumb and pressed it against the parchment just above her signature.
After lifting her thumb, Bell saw that the parchment holding the contract actually had something magical happen to it after realization. It floated into the air at the same time as a few other students in the bleachers nearby, they all then flew into a neat stack on the stand in front of Vice-Principal Hestia.
[Alrighty, after the final contract has been signed, we'll be taking a fifteen-minute break for the rest of the students to gather around for our guest speaker of the month!]
Now, it was time to wait a short bit... maybe after Bell gets some water.