As he was shaking it, Tesric felt the roughness of Arden's hand, his fingers moving along scars that lined the skin. He had some rough hands himself, years of tinkering with machines and a few electric shocks will do that to you, but Arden's scars were different, born from survival rather than creation.
Tesric's analytical gaze shifted to his worn dirty cloak—a rare sight in a topside full of formal wear—and the slimness of his sharp face, putting the puzzle pieces together.
"You're from the Gloam, aren't you?" Tesric asked casually, his tone more curious than judgmental, devoid of any malice.
Arden's eyebrow raised slightly, "Yeah, I am," His voice had an edge to it, something that must have spawned from too many conversations like this one. "You got a problem with that?"
Tesric tilted his head slightly, allowing the silence to stretch for a moment with a mischievous glimmer present in his eyes. "It's absolutely…" he dragged the words out, feigning hesitation. "Perfectly fine!" he grinned with a playful and disarming tone of voice.
Arden blinked in surprise, not expecting that response. "I see.."
Tesric chuckled and hit Arden with a playful punch on the shoulder, basically telling him to lighten up. "Got you there, didn't I?"
A faint smile finally broke out of the mage-to-be's guarded expression. "Sure did."
The two students continued their conversation, although it was mostly Tesric doing the talking. He enthusiastically talked about his inventions, his family, and his engineering background. Arden, who really didn't know what he was talking about, offered only short responses.
Tesric also realized when he was talking about their childhoods that Arden didn't like that topic being brought up, so he steered the conversation to safer topics.
"And also, I don't have magic," Tesric said suddenly, dropping the fact in the middle of the conversation as though it was completely unimportant.
Arden stopped and whipped his head towards Tesric. His expression, a mix of shock and confusion, and his voice loud with disbelief. "Wait, what? Then why are you even he-"
"Time to get on, boys!" The pilot shouted from the deck of the airship, interrupting Arden's questioning. The pilot swished his wand around, and glowing steps of energy materialized which floated upward, leading to the edge of the airship's deck.
"We'll get to that later," Tesric said, cutting the conversation short. He turned towards the steps, his face lighting up as he gestured towards it, "C'mon, let's go."
Tesric's gigantic luggage also started levitating up toward the deck of the ship. Tesric glanced at it briefly, praying it wouldn't crash into something.
Arden shook his head, still trying to process the information Tesric had laid on him, but there was no time to press further. He followed Tesric up the glowing steps, while the faint hum of magic buzzed beneath their feet.
As the two made their way up the glowing steps, their eyes were immediately drawn to a circular pattern etched onto the wooden floor.
At the edge of the circle, five small crystals were embedded at precise points. Next to the crystals were the names of various cities: Floriellis, Myrthal, Valdros, Bramverde, and Ruthgard. Tesric recognized the names, but it was the pattern that held his attention.
He knelt down to examine the strange design of the ritual, his brow raised in curiosity. "I've never seen anything like this before," he muttered, lightly brushing over the markings with his fingers.
Arden, who was behind Tesric, extended his hand toward the pattern as if he was feeling the magic emanating from it. "A warp ritual, utilizing dragon scales," Arden said matter-of-factly.
The pilot who was finishing the circles last segment, glanced over at Arden with a pleased smile. "That's right!" he affirmed, "Great answer, Master Solwyn."
Tesric, who was surprised and impressed at Arden's words, turned to him with a smile. "Nice one, Arden. How did you—" he cut himself off when he saw Arden look just as puzzled as himself.
Arden started rubbing his temples, "I don't know," he muttered. There was simply no way he could've even known that, after all information of that kind wasn't common knowledge in the Gloam.
Tesric studied his expression for a moment before shrugging his arms and getting up. "Well whatever that was, it's pretty impressive,"
The pilot walked to the center of the rune ritual and twirled his wand around into a circle. "Find something to hold onto, boys," he called out gleefully. The dragon scale embedded next to "Myrthal" began to glow and evaporate into nothingness. "We're off to pick up your classmates!"
Arden quickly gripped one of the sturdy support beams of the airships, bracing himself for whatever was happening. Meanwhile, Tesric glanced down at his luggage and decided to trust that its impressive size would make it an effective anchor.
The circular pattern pulsed brighter and brighter until finally, the airship appeared to disappear from existence. The world felt like it was spinning in all directions, yet oddly, feeling weightless.
After only a few seconds, the light dimmed and the airship was steady once again. Tesric looked around cautiously, it looked like they were in the same place, but something was different. The air was cooler, and the timezones had changed, with it being morning when they got on and now it was the afternoon.
As he peered down over the side of the deck, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
Below the airship was a magnificent city, vastly different from Vespera in every way. Massive towers of stone were built on the side of mountains, their surfaces edged with glowing runes. Bridges made of light connected the towers in a web of luminescence.
At the heart of the city stood a castle that was crowned with glowing orbs that floated above its towers.
Arden leaned against the railing of the deck next to Tesric, scanning the cityscape with awe. "Any idea where we are?"
Tesric looked at him with a gaze alight with excitement. "Myrthal, the city where magic was born." His words came out fast as his enthusiasm bubbled. "Some of the greatest academics and innovators in history came from here! I've always dreamed of seeing it in person."
Arden look at Tesric, whose eyes were sparkling with wonder, and smirked at him. "For someone without magic, You're really into this stuff, huh?" he remarked, half-teasing.
Tesric chuckled at the teasing. "Of course I am, how else am I supposed to figure out how to make my inventions replace magic if I don't understand it first?"
"You're trying to wha—"
The question was cut abruptly short as the airship suddenly dropped, rapidly descending toward the city's docking port. Arden who was decidedly tired of being interrupted, chose to just not question it any further.
The pilot, unfazed by the sudden landing, stepped down to the docking area with his wand in hand to welcome the next passenger.
After a minute of waiting, the sound of footsteps on the conjured steps, cut their attention. A dark-haired girl ascended up them, her scholarly attire swaying with each of her steps, and the glasses sitting on her nose gave her a studious aura.
Once on the deck, she approached the two boys with a polite nod. "My name is Quinn Zerithis," she introduced herself with a calm voice.
"Tesric Lestair," Tesric replied warmly.
"Arden Solwyn." Arden followed, though more reserved.
Quinn's gaze flicked between the two of them, her expression thoughtful, while stroking her chin in contemplation. "Hmm. Judging by your overall appearances, I'd say you two must be from the same city…how unusual," she remarked.
Both of the boys blinked in surprise at her deduction.
Quinn turned her attention to Arden, her eyes narrowing as she focused. "Though, you appear to be from a lower class than him." The statement was blunt, but she viewed it as a simple observation rather than an insult. "It's quite obvious from the differences in your clothing and skin tone."
Arden stiffened at the comment, crossing his arms defensively, but before he could respond, Quinn shifted her focus to Tesric. "And you, are an academic, likely from Vespera, if I had to wager."
Tesric smiled, impressed at the young woman's assessment. "Pretty spot on," he admitted, "though I wouldn't call myself an academic… more of an engineer."
Quinn gave a small nod at the correction. "An engineer.. fascinating. It's always refreshing to meet someone with intellectual capability much like my own."
She turned back toward Arden, softening her gaze a bit. "No offense, of course."
"None taken," Arden replied coolly although his arms were still crossed.
After a few minutes of getting to know one another, the pilot who wanted to keep the schedule tight, stepped back into the center of the warp ritual, and the magic hummed to life once more.
The students braced themselves as the ship was warping once again. This time holding onto one another for support, though Quinn had other priorities. Her eyes narrowed at the dragon scales used in the ritual, expression sharp with disapproval. "I can't believe they're wasting rare fossils for something as mundane as this."
After the deed was done, the three found themselves hovering above a new location. Below them was a beautiful and breathtaking city, it's architecture an ode to classical elegance. White pillars supported grand temples and numerous buildings. And, a majestic river flowing from the largest temple at the city's center, split the city into two.
Arden, once again not knowing anything about geography, turned to the two geniuses beside him.
Quinn was the first to anwer, her tone filled with admiration at the city below, "Floriellis, the most beautiful city in the world."
Tesric nodded in agreement, although his expression carried less awe than Quinn's. "Big tourist spot, too," he added. "Went here on vacation a few years back. The temples are incredible, exhaustingly long lines though."
The ship descended towards Floriellis's airship dock. The three gathered at the deck's edge, waiting for the arrival of their classmate.
Soon, a dark figure emerged from the steps. A girl with white hair and dressed in flowing black robes, ascended. As she approached them, the air began to feel noticeably colder.
The three step forward to introduce themselves. Tesric, being an extrovert, introduced himself first. "Hello! I'm Tesric Lestair, your classmate and aspiring engineer," he grinned as he extended a hand.
The girl replied with no words. Instead, she raised her hands and began making gestures—sign language, which was unfamiliar to Tesric and Quinn. The girl noticing their unfamiliarity with the language, raised her hand to conjure words.
But before she could, Arden stepped forward and surprised them, responding with his own hand movements, his gestures were rough and not practiced, but it was good enough.
The girl's expression softened, and she smiled at Arden in acknowledgment, moving her hands again to reply.
Tesric gave Arden a pat on the back, impressed by him. "You know sign language?"
Arden replied to him, while at the same time signing with the girl, "Picked up a lot of things in the Gloam." After a brief exchange with the girl, Arden turned towards the others. "Her name's Serena Everly."
However, Quinn wasn't so focused on the introductions. She had been watching the girl's shadow the entire time. While Serena stood motionless, her shadow slithered and roamed like it was a living creature, it's form vaguely resembling a monstrous cat.
"Fascinating," Quinn murmured under her breath.
Serena saw Quinn's curiosity at her shadow, and simply smiled, before turning and walking towards a shaded corner of the deck. Her figure melded with the shadows as she stepped into the darkness, until she disappeared entirely within it.
"Well," Tesric said after a few moments of silence, scratching the back of his neck. "That was… something."
Quinn adjusted her glasses, obviously thinking about the implications of the living shadow. "I'll say, and we've still yet to be a complete class."
Arden crossed his arms, staring at the shadows where Serena rested. "Seems like we're in for an eventful next three years."
To be continued…