The day after the sorting ceremony had been an overwhelming blur. It was hard to believe that just yesterday, I had been standing in front of a magical mirror, hearing it analyze me and decide my house. Now, here I was, walking through a maze of halls at Yegiths, clutching my schedule in one hand, trying to hold my head above water as everything around me swirled into chaos.
I glanced around at the others in the hallway, trying not to look too lost. George and Jaime were chattering excitedly, as usual, heads bent together, their faces lit with enthusiasm. They had already started talking about what they were going to do this year, classes they were excited for, and all the fun things they were going to try. I could barely focus on any of it, my head still spinning from the sorting, from the strange new environment, from the sheer weight of everything I was about to learn.
Ophelia, walking beside me, looked just as lost as I felt. She was staring at her schedule, her brows furrowed in concentration, but the longer I watched, the more I could see her anxiety starting to take over. Her lips trembled, and I could hear her muttering under her breath.
"I am so behind," she said, her voice tight with worry. "I'll have to go to the library after school, just to catch up. I've never been this behind. How do people keep up with all of this? I don't even know where to start…"
Her words came out in a rush, panic creeping into every syllable. My heart went out to her. She was handling this better than I was, but I could see how overwhelmed she was by everything. This was all so new to both of us. Ophelia had never been trained in magic, not like some of the other students who had grown up in magical families. And now, she was here, thrust into this world with a million things to learn and no idea where to begin.
"I don't even know how I'm going to manage," she continued, shaking her head, her fingers clutching the edges of her schedule. I could see the slight tremor in her hands. "I should've started preparing sooner. What if I fail?"
I was about to say something, anything to try to reassure her, but before I could get a word out, Jaime was already by her side. She nudged George, catching his attention, and he fell silent immediately, noticing Ophelia's distress.
"It's okay," Jaime said softly, her voice calm, like a grounding force. She placed a hand on Ophelia's shoulder, offering comfort. "You're not alone, okay? We're all going to be here to help you. I'll help you, Ophelia. You can come with me to the library after classes, and we'll catch up together. You won't fall behind."
Ophelia's face softened at Jaime's words, her eyes still full of worry, but I saw the tension slowly start to ease. She nodded, but it was clear she still felt like she was drowning in the pressure of it all. I couldn't blame her. I was feeling much the same way.
"Thanks, Jaime," Ophelia said, her voice quieter now, but there was a touch of relief in it. "I just… I just didn't expect this to be so much. I don't know what I'm doing."
"You're doing fine," Jaime reassured her with a smile. "And you're not alone. We've got your back."
As we continued walking to our first class, I couldn't help but feel a little better just by being in their company. At least I wasn't the only one who was struggling.
We reached the Elemental Manipulation classroom, and immediately, the atmosphere shifted. The room was colder than the hallway outside, a chill in the air that made me shiver. There was a heavy presence in the room, a kind of stillness that made my stomach turn. I looked at the other students filing in and tried not to look too lost. I wasn't sure what I was expecting from the first class, but it certainly wasn't the intimidating figure standing at the front of the room.
Professor Elias Blackthorn stood there, a towering figure with an air of absolute authority. His pale skin seemed almost sickly against the bright, unforgiving light of the room, and his blond hair, streaked with blue and black, looked almost like a dark storm cloud hovering over him. The scowl on his face was deep enough to make anyone think twice before speaking.
"I am Professor Blackthorn," he grumbled, his voice deep and cold. "You will address me as such. Do not waste my time."
I froze. The way he spoke made me feel like I had already messed up somehow just by being here. I glanced at Ophelia, who was standing beside me, her face pale. Jaime, thankfully, was giving her a reassuring look. She wasn't panicking anymore, but I could still see the nervousness in her posture. We all felt it—the weight of the unknown, the pressure of what was to come.
Professor Blackthorn didn't wait for any of us to respond. He waved his wand lazily, and the chalk on the blackboard flew up, writing out a series of instructions in sharp, precise strokes. It was almost mesmerizing, the way the chalk obeyed his every command.
"This is Elemental Manipulation," he said, his voice rough, like gravel. "You will learn to manipulate the elements—water, fire, earth, air, and more. You will learn how to control them. If you're not capable, you will fail. If you fail, you will not belong here."
His words struck me like a slap to the face. I felt my stomach drop. I had no idea if I was capable. No idea if I even belonged here. The words seemed to hang in the air, heavy and suffocating.
"We will have two classes of Elemental Manipulation," Blackthorn continued. "One practical, with me, and one theoretical, with Professor Steinbridge. If you can't handle it, leave now."
He looked around the room, his gaze landing on each student in turn, his eyes cold and unfeeling. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. I had no idea what I was doing here.
"Take out your wands," Blackthorn ordered. "We begin immediately."
I felt my breath catch in my throat as I pulled my wand from my pocket, my hand trembling. What if I failed? What if I couldn't do it? What if I was just as out of place here as I felt?
The others around me seemed to be better prepared—more confident, at least. George, Jaime, even Ophelia seemed a little more at ease. But I was a complete beginner. I had no magic training, no background in this world. How was I supposed to catch up with them?
Ophelia
I felt eyes on the back of my head as we sat in Elemental Manipulation. As I looked back, I saw a boy with jet black hair and silvery green eyes. They were truly beautiful. He quickly looked away, a scowl etched onto his face. I didn't know what I'd done to make him look like that.
"Mister Bortenachi, are you listening to what I am saying, or do you feel since you already know some of these things, you don't have to pay attention?" Professor Blackthorn's voice cut through the air, snapping the boy's attention to the front.
The boy's beautiful eyes narrowed as he turned to the professor, clearly irritated. I couldn't help but wonder why he seemed so bothered. He sat next to two other boys—one of them had been the one who had stared at Jaime yesterday. The other boy had smacked him over the head for it. All three of them looked older than the rest of us.
The other two boys were bent over a piece of paper, passing it back and forth. I noticed that as they continued to write notes to each other, the boy with blue eyes seemed to grow angrier with every word he wrote. Meanwhile, the one with violet eyes grew more sluggish and inattentive as time went on. It wasn't long before both of them stopped writing entirely. The atmosphere around them seemed tense, even though they hadn't said a word aloud.
I glanced back at the boy with jet-black hair and silvery green eyes, the one whom I'd caught staring at Jaime earlier. His posture was rigid, his gaze now firmly on Professor Blackthorn, but I still sensed the tension in him. Was he angry at the professor for calling him out, or was it something else? Whatever the cause, it seemed like he was struggling to stay engaged. I quickly turned my attention to the front of the room, deciding that whatever was going on with them wasn't my problem.
Professor Blackthorn continued his lecture, his voice cold and stern. "Elemental Manipulation is a delicate art. You will learn how to channel and control the elements, whether it be fire, water, earth, or air. But don't think for a second that simply waving your wand will do the trick. It requires control, discipline, and focus." His tone left no room for doubt. He expected nothing less than perfection from us.
The boy with the beautiful eyes—Mister Bortenachi, as the professor had called him—was clearly trying to focus, but I could see that his mind was elsewhere. Every now and then, I'd catch a glimpse of his expression as he half-heartedly tried to follow along. He was clearly struggling to suppress his annoyance, his brow furrowed deeply.
I found it hard not to keep looking back at him. I had no idea why, but there was something about the way he carried himself that intrigued me. Maybe it was the stark contrast between his dark, intense demeanor and the calmness of his two companions. It was hard not to wonder what made them tick.
The boy with the blue eyes—he had been the one who smacked his friend earlier—was now tapping his pen against the table, the action growing more forceful with each passing second. The violet-eyed boy, on the other hand, was slouched in his seat, his posture completely relaxed as if he hadn't a care in the world. He was tapping his foot lightly against the floor, but it was clear that he was distracted, possibly even bored. The whole situation seemed almost like a game to him, a game that no one else was playing.
It was strange how they interacted with each other, so much so that I couldn't help but stare. Even without saying a word, they communicated volumes with their expressions, their body language, and their subtle movements. I couldn't tell if they were friends, rivals, or something in between. Whatever the case, they certainly weren't a group that seemed to blend in with the rest of the class.
The professor's voice brought me back to the present, his words cutting through my thoughts like a sharp blade. "Focus, students. This is an important subject. You will be required to perform practical demonstrations of your control over the elements before the semester is over. It is not enough to simply memorize spells; you must demonstrate mastery over them." He turned his back to write something on the blackboard, the chalk scratching against the surface.
I barely had time to register the professor's words before the tension in the room grew thicker. I felt it in my own chest—a nervous excitement mixed with the weight of expectation. We were all expected to learn how to manipulate the elements, and that was no small task. There was no room for error. The pressure weighed heavily on me, but at least I wasn't alone. I could see that Jaime, sitting next to me, was equally focused and determined. She was taking detailed notes, her pen moving rapidly as she tried to keep up with Professor Blackthorn's lecture.
As I sat there, trying to concentrate, I couldn't help but glance back again. This time, the boy with the jet black hair and silvery green eyes was staring off into space, his expression unreadable. He looked exhausted, like he'd been carrying some heavy weight for too long. His hands rested on his desk, fingers tapping restlessly as if he were counting the seconds until the class was over.
I wasn't sure if I should feel sorry for him or if I should just leave him to his own devices. There was something about him that made me uneasy, though I couldn't place exactly what it was. Was it his arrogance? His anger? Or perhaps it was simply the way he carried himself like someone who had already seen too much and grown tired of it.
The lesson seemed to drag on forever, each minute feeling like an eternity. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. I let out a sigh of relief, grateful that the tension in the air was finally broken. I packed up my things quickly, eager to get out of the room and away from the intense energy that had filled it.
As we filed out of the classroom, I caught one last glance at the boy with the beautiful eyes. He was still sitting at his desk, the other two boys having already left the room. His gaze seemed distant, lost in thought, and for a moment, I felt like I could almost understand what was going through his mind. But before I could dwell on it any longer, I turned and followed Jaime and the others out the door.
Evan
I saw the way Ophelia kept looking back at some boy, so I turned to George as we were walking out to ask him if he recognized him.
"George, who is the boy with the black hair?" I asked loud enough to catch both George and Ophelia's attention. I noticed Ophelia's interest, though she quickly masked it by turning her attention back to her books.
"Oh, that would be Aiden L. Bortenachi. Nobody really knows what the L stands for, but yeah. He's the son of one of the Dark Lord's most fierce followers," George said with a shrug, as if it didn't really matter to him. "He's a bit older, around 13. Don't know why he's with the first years though, or why Jason and Matthew are first years with us. They're 13 too, but hey, whatever."
He said the last part dismissively, clearly not concerned about it. I didn't bother telling him that Aiden had been staring at Ophelia or that Ophelia had looked back. I figured that would just cause tension between them, and that wasn't something I needed to add.
Ophelia didn't say anything, just looked down as George gave his explanation. She turned to Jaime and mentioned that they needed to get ready for Arcane Fundamentals. There was something off about her tone. I couldn't quite place the emotion, but it sounded like she was bothered by something.