Vord explained what was going to happen during the initiation.'We want to ensure that anyone who becomes a member of the ancient and truly original brothers of the Silver Star, even as a prospect, an initiate, is strong and true. We need people who stand firm in the face of whatever the world of magic may bring.'
He passed his gaze over the students. His lip twitched as he looked at Randall. Timothy tried to sit straighter.

'So we have devised a very simple test,' Vord continued, indicating the circle. 'Each of you will enter the circle, remain there until you see the sign to leave, and immediately move through to the next room. Now,' he sharpened his eyes. 'Some of you will fail. You will fold or try to deceive me. It is not something to be ashamed of. You may still become wizards. But you cannot become a Silver Star yet and we ask that you leave immediately.'

Timothy knew it was a lie. If any of them failed this test then they wouldn't even want to be wizards anymore. It was going to be a real test, not some game to pass the time at the University. And by the smirks that knowing looks that were scattered across the faces of the other students, Timothy assumed he was the only one who realised.

Vord waved one student up. The room was silent as he walked forward and stood at the edge of the circle. He gulped visibly and looked at Vord. I'm not the only one who's worried, thought Timothy as Vord simply stared back at the student. With a sigh the young man stepped over the glowing line. And vanished.

There were a few murmurs of conversation but most of the students silently watched the circle. Soon the student appeared on the other side of the circle. His skin was white and he was trembling so hard he could barely walk.

'Well done my boy. Off you go to the next room,' said Vord. The student shuffled over to the door, a few specks of dust falling from his shoes. As the student opened the door Timmy noticed that the other man's hand no longer glowed.
Vord smiled widely.
'Next.'

----

One by one each student entered the circle, and most walked out the other side. Occasionally the student wouldn't appear and Vord would go into the circle and help them out. Most of the students who failed seemed frozen in terror, their mouths opening and shutting at random as Vord hustled them out through the glowing chains and into the hallways. By the speed he returned to the lecture theatre, Timothy was sure he was leaving them all in a quivering pile for the maids. One young man threw up before falling out through the chain covered doorway.

Timothy saw that Vord was watching. He smiled and swallowed thickly.
'You next,' said Vord.

----

It isn't often spoken about, but there is more than one reason that Unseen University developed on the site near the river Ankh (1). It is well known that the Tower of Art is the oldest building in the city by the type of citizens who tend to annoy their fellow citizens by getting together in large groups and declaring each others junk to be worth large amounts of money and then telling newcomers that their family heirloom from the Civil War is actually a cheap Pseudopolitan knock-off. Of those who the city's history, those who tend to snicker while discussing wizards' staffs often fall over when the subject turns to the finer details of the Tower of Art. After all, it is an antiquated relic from an older, more dangerous time; a time when wizards competed against one another by building larger and larger towers and flinging gobs of magic at each other.

But fewer members of the general public that loiter in the streets know another, perhaps vital, reason for the University's existence. The Tower of Art was built over a reality gap, a place on the Disc where the already stretched fabric of reality is picked apart with all the care and precision of a starved alligator in a puppy farm. One of the largest and best known reality-gaps is the upside-down mountain of the Wyrmburg, though the violent nature of the dragon-riders and the scant nature of their women's clothing probably keep the tale spreading more than its magical intrigue. The university exists to provide a barrier between the gap and the city.

The gap at the university isn't as pervasive as the Wyrmburg but it is noticeable. Any wizards debating the various measures intended to keep the citizenry from discovering the dangers nearby invariably lowered their heads and observed a few moments in memory Mr Hong and his fish and chip shop. This is because of the nature of the unreal (or unnature of the real, the debate continues), that waits patiently beyond that stretched metaphorical fabric.

New student wizards, while generally left to do their slacking and skiving without a full wizard overseeing things, had one fact impressed upon them as soon as possible when they arrived at the University. 'Magic is like a flame to a moth,' said the older wizards. 'Only the moth eats fire and is quite willing and able to devour all life that it finds. Magic weakens the barrier between the real and the unreal. There are things there, unreal things, things that are always waiting to get in.'

When Timothy had first sat down for this summary he had thought it was a silly precaution. Come on, the library is at least four times bigger on the inside and there's always wizards casting spells in the halls! Surely those are big enough weights on the rubber sheet, our shenanigans won't leave a dent?

But then Old Man Thunderwhistle had brought in some artist's impressions. Timothy was still unsure whether the cackling old bastard had cast some sort of enchantment to make the paintings seem alive. One of them had a small note saying 'Property of Boatbacyn Asylum' stuck to it which told Timothy that he shouldn't ask. The answer may have been even more worrying.

None of this was forefront in his mind as he walked up to the glowing circle.
'There's a good b… lad,' said Vord, motioning him closer. With a deep breath, Timothy steeped into the circle.

(1) - The first and most widely understood reason being the lack of a working sewer system in the early days of the University.