Griffin walked ahead, his steps light and unhurried as Eli trailed behind, still trying to wrap his head around everything. The academy stretched out around them, vast and glowing with a strange, otherworldly energy. Tall spires shot into the sky, and shimmering lights danced in the air like lazy fireflies.
"This place is massive," Eli muttered, his eyes darting around.
Griffin chuckled. "Yeah, it can be a lot at first," he said, glancing back. "But you'll get used to it. Pendarghast has been around for centuries. It's kinda the big leagues for magic types."
"Centuries?" Eli repeated, almost tripping over his own feet. "How does something like this even exist without anyone knowing?"
Griffin shrugged. "Magic, obviously. The academy's hidden, like a secret layer between worlds. Normal folks can't see it, even if they're standing right on top of it."
Eli frowned, his brain working overtime to process. "And everyone here knows… magic?"
"More or less," Griffin said. "Some are born with it, some get awakened later, and then there are folks like you who just show up outta nowhere. Happens sometimes."
Eli narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't explain anything."
Griffin snorted. "Trust me, explanations aren't really Pendarghast's strong suit. You'll figure it out as you go." He slowed as they reached a wide hallway lined with ornate wooden doors, each carved with swirling patterns that seemed to shift when Eli looked at them too long.
"Okay, seriously," Eli said, crossing his arms. "What is this place even for? Like, what's the point of all this?"
Griffin stopped and leaned casually against a nearby wall. "Think of it like a school, but for magic and… other stuff. You learn spells, potions, elemental manipulation, all that jazz. If you survive long enough, you graduate and do something important. Or, you know, not. Some folks just stick around."
"Survive?" Eli repeated, not liking the sound of that.
Griffin grinned. "Relax. It's not that bad. Well, usually." He pushed off the wall and motioned for Eli to follow again. "C'mon. There's something I wanna show you."
They walked in silence for a bit before Griffin stopped in front of a slightly smaller door, tucked away at the end of the hallway. It was plain compared to the others, with no shifting patterns or glowing symbols. Just old, scratched wood and a simple metal handle.
"What's behind this one?" Eli asked, eyeing it warily.
Griffin smirked. "Lost and Found," he said. "Where all the weird stuff ends up. Some people swear it's cursed, but I think it's just messy."
Eli raised an eyebrow. "Lost and Found? Like… a storage room?"
"Pretty much," Griffin said. "You wanna check it out? Could be fun. Plus, you don't look like you've got anywhere else to be right now."
Eli hesitated, then shrugged. "Why not? Can't be any weirder than the rest of this place."
Griffin grinned and pushed the door open. "You'd be surprised."
The door creaked open, and Eli stepped inside, immediately hit with a wave of chaos. The room was enormous, far bigger than it looked from the outside, and every inch of it was packed with… stuff. Shelves stretched up to a high, shadowy ceiling, crammed with objects that sparkled, hummed, or glowed faintly. Piles of random items—scrolls, old books, strange artifacts—were scattered on the floor like someone had just dumped them there.
"Wow," Eli breathed, spinning in place as his eyes tried to take it all in. "This is… insane."
Griffin followed him in, casually shoving aside a floating feather quill that was bobbing in mid-air. "Yeah, it's a mess," he said. "The room kinda… keeps itself, though. No one really cleans it. Stuff just shows up when it's lost and sticks around until it's found."
Eli crouched by a small, glowing orb that seemed to pulse faintly with light. He reached out to touch it but stopped short. "What is all this?"
Griffin shrugged. "Everything and nothing. Lost keys, ancient relics, cursed objects—you name it. If it's lost, it ends up here eventually."
"Cursed?" Eli said, yanking his hand back.
Griffin laughed. "Relax. The curses are mostly harmless. Probably. That orb, for example?" He nodded at the glowing object. "Just lights up when someone's lying. Kinda useless unless you're, like, a lawyer or something."
Eli frowned and picked up the orb anyway. It felt warm in his hands, buzzing faintly, and he turned it over, fascinated. "How does it even work?"
Griffin smirked. "Magic," he said simply, as if that explained everything.
"Right." Eli rolled his eyes and put the orb down. He wandered deeper into the room, pausing by a shelf lined with tiny glass bottles, each filled with swirling, colorful liquid. One bottle had what looked like a tiny storm brewing inside it, complete with flashes of lightning. Another glowed with a soft, golden light that made his skin tingle just looking at it.
"What's this?" he asked, pointing to the golden one.
Griffin leaned over and squinted at it. "Liquid luck," he said. "Drink it, and everything goes your way for a day. Rare stuff. Pretty sure that one's expired, though."
"Expired luck?" Eli asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happens if you drink it?"
Griffin grinned. "You really wanna find out?"
"Pass," Eli said quickly, stepping away from the bottles. He picked up a thick book with a leather cover, its pages edged with what looked like actual gold. "And this?"
"Oh, that's the Book of Questions," Griffin said. "Ask it anything, and it writes the answer. But it's kinda temperamental. Likes to give riddles instead of straight answers."
Eli stared at the book, then set it down. "This place is insane," he muttered.
Griffin smirked. "Told you." He plopped down on a nearby chair that had three legs but somehow didn't tip over. "You find all kinds of weird stuff here. Sometimes it's junk. Sometimes it's… not."
Eli paused by a tattered cloak that seemed to shift between colors, shimmering faintly. "And this?" he asked, glancing back at Griffin.
Griffin's eyes flicked to the cloak, and his smile faded slightly. "Uh, maybe don't touch that one," he said. "It's got a habit of teleporting people to random places. One guy put it on and ended up in the middle of a dragon's nest."
Eli took a quick step back. "Noted."
They spent a while exploring, Griffin pointing out objects and explaining their uses—or, more often, warning Eli not to mess with them. Eli couldn't help but feel a strange mix of awe and unease. The room was fascinating, but it also felt alive somehow, like it was watching him.
Finally, he turned to Griffin, his head spinning with questions. "So, uh… what happens if something in here isn't found? Does it just… stay forever?"
Griffin leaned back in the chair, propping his feet up on a nearby crate. "Pretty much," he said. "Unless someone figures out what it is and claims it. Sometimes stuff just disappears on its own, though. No one really knows why."
Eli frowned, glancing around the room again. "And no one's in charge of it? Like, there's no lost-and-found manager or something?"
Griffin snorted. "Nah, the room kinda manages itself. People only come in here if they're looking for something specific—or if they're bored. Like you."
Eli rolled his eyes but couldn't help a small smile. "Fair enough."
Griffin stood and stretched. "Alright, newbie. Fun's over. Let's get you outta here before you accidentally trigger a time loop or something."
Eli blinked. "That's… possible?"
Griffin just grinned and headed for the door. "You'd be surprised."
Eli was halfway to the door when something caught his eye. A small, torn piece of paper poked out from under a dusty stack of books on a low shelf. It didn't glow or shimmer like the other items, but something about it felt… off. He hesitated, then bent down to pick it up.
It was a photograph, torn cleanly in half. His fingers brushed away the dust, and when he saw what was on it, his heart nearly stopped.
A baby—him. There was no mistaking it. The same curly hair, the same small dimple on his cheek. But what really made his stomach twist was the tiny sun tattoo on the baby's left shoulder. The exact same tattoo he had.
Eli's hands started to tremble as his eyes darted to the woman holding the baby. She was smiling, her face soft and kind, her eyes warm and familiar. She looked happy—proud.
But the rest of the picture was missing. The other half had been torn away, leaving only empty space where someone else had clearly been standing.
"Eli?" Griffin's voice broke the silence, snapping him back to reality. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Eli didn't answer. His mind was spinning, and he could barely breathe. "I… I need to know where this came from," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Griffin frowned and walked over. "What'd you find?" He glanced at the photo in Eli's hand and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Looks old. You recognize it or something?"
Eli swallowed hard, his throat dry. "That's me," he said, his voice shaky. "The baby. And… this tattoo…" He turned his shoulder slightly to show Griffin the matching sun mark.
Griffin's eyes widened. "Whoa. Okay, that's freaky. You sure this isn't just some crazy coincidence?"
"It's not," Eli said firmly, his grip on the photo tightening. "I need to find the other half. There's someone else in this picture, and I need to know who they are."
Griffin scratched the back of his head, looking uncertain. "Well, stuff doesn't usually end up here for no reason. If it's in Lost and Found, it means someone lost it—or it was meant for you to find."
Eli stared at the photo again, his chest tightening. The woman's face stirred something deep inside him, like a memory he couldn't quite grasp. "Why would something like this be here? It doesn't make sense."
Griffin sighed. "Nothing in Pendarghast makes sense, man. But if it showed up here, there's a reason. Might be worth holding onto."
Eli nodded slowly, tucking the torn photo into his pocket. "I'm not leaving without finding out more."
Griffin gave him a lopsided grin. "You're stubborn. I like that. But trust me, this place doesn't just give answers. You're gonna have to dig."
Eli glanced around the chaotic room, his resolve growing. He didn't know who the woman in the photo was, but he knew one thing: he couldn't leave this mystery unsolved.