oOo

Dear Mom and Dad,

My first week at Ravenwood was wild, to say the least.

Apparently, this was a really bad time for me to develop magical abilities. Just a few weeks ago, the professor of necromancy, a man named Malistaire Drake, resigned from his position and destroyed the Death School itself. The next day, Wizard City came under attack from hordes of undead pouring out from the school's previously-sealed caves! Everybody is whispering that he was responsible for it, but nobody can confirm it, and nobody knows why. Martial law is currently in effect, but we've been assured that studies will continue uninterrupted and that no undead will reach Ravenwood itself. The streets infested with undead have been blocked off, and the Wizard City guards are making sure nobody goes in there without the right abilities and permission.

When I arrived at Ravenwood, all of us new students were taken to the Headmaster's tower, where we learned which school of magic we would join. There's this ancient artifact, the Book of Secrets, which will recommend the type of magic that fits you best. You have the opportunity to join whichever school you want regardless of what the book says, but most people (me included) choose to follow its advice. I'll be learning Fire magic – pyromancy! At the time this was happening, none of us knew that the Death school had been destroyed, so I feel really bad for all the new necromancers who'll be taught by another student rather than a real teacher.

So, after all of us had decided on our schools of magic, there was a nice reception for new students at the Golem Tower outside of the school itself. Well, it would have been a nice reception if not for an untimely interruption: the rogue professor happened to choose just this moment to break into the Golem Tower for something. We were quickly evacuated back to Ravenwood while Headmaster Ambrose went to head him off, and people are saying that Ambrose was able to drive Malistaire away. Once again, nobody knows the how or the why. We're all pretty much in the dark about the whole Malistaire situation.

I've finally gotten settled now, thankfully. I was one of the few people to get assigned a single dorm – no roommates. Sadly, that means it's quite a bit smaller than the double and triple dorms. The picture I've attached is of my dorm room. All that's in there right now is the Ravenwood-provided furniture: a bed, a dresser, and a desk. If I want anything else, I'll have to pay for it out of my own pocket.

Ravenwood itself is certainly impressive, though. In the center of the Ravenwood plaza is a colossal, sentient tree named Bartleby. Surrounding it are the buildings for the six schools of magic (five now, since the Death School was destroyed), each with their own, smaller sentient tree corresponding to the school's element. Where the Death School used to be, there's now just a gaping chasm. Death classes were officially cancelled, but I heard that there's an older student who's been teaching what he knows to newer necromancers. In addition to these, there's also a School of Balance Magic, which was newly introduced to Ravenwood and doesn't have a building yet. I'll make sure to send you a few pictures of Ravenwood soon.

I'm doing pretty well in my classes so far. I'm taking courses in teleportation, magical history, and basic casting, as well as several for novice Fire magic. The Fire magic classes are definitely my favorites. I can cast my first real spell, Firecat, already! As for flames themselves, I can't do much more than make sparks, but Professor Falmea has reassured us that our control will improve with time. I also have the chance to enroll in a second school, but it's supposed to be much harder to learn a secondary type of magic, so I've decided to wait on pursuing that until I'm more grounded in Fire magic.

Starting tomorrow, I'll be doing some field work as a volunteer. An outing has been organized for new students to test out their magic on some ghosts in Unicorn Way, one of the sealed streets. Don't worry, there will be plenty of supervision and the people in charge have made sure that there's nothing stronger than a level we can deal with. I'll make sure to write all about it in my next letter!

Your daughter,

Brynn.

oOo

Original A/N: Hi! This fanfiction takes a look at Ravenwood from a more realistic point of view - if it weren't just a game. It's told in the form of letters, so the chapters aren't going to be very long. Enjoy!

Updated A/N: Hello and welcome to my primary work, Letters Home. I started writing this fanfiction back in 2012, and Chapters 1-5 are from that early era. However, I took an extended hiatus (one that I thought would be permanent) where this story laid nearly untouched for several years and I only seriously resumed writing in 2015. What you've just read is a rewritten version of Chapter 1, and I plan to replace the other early chapters in the near future.

My goal with this fanfiction is to portray Ravenwood and the rest of the Spiral from a more realistic point of view. I hope you enjoy!

-The Thunder Alchemist

1-16-2016