Aaaaayyy, I'm back! Here's the second chapter! Enjoy!
It was not as grand a building as Kai had initially thought, but Darkley's still towered over the grounds. Jay gasped at the sight of the school. There were small groups of children of different ages sitting on the front lawn. They all lugged their belongings, Cole muttering a curse under his breath directed at their driver, who only smirked and propped his feet up.
The boys stood there on the grass for a few minutes when everyone heard a loud gong. Several of the children jumped to their feet and stood by their bags. The doors opened and there walked out the man that owned, ran, and taught at Darkley's School for Magic of Elements. Wu, an elder but also known as a powerful man and brother. He carried a staff in his hand, his eyes ordering the children to line up for order. He knocked a few students on the head before everyone obeyed.
"Glad to see so many willing students come to learn the art of magic. Why don't we all go inside and begin your orientation?" Wu said, slowly stroking his beard. All the children obeyed and went inside. Just like how it wasn't grand on the outside, the school was not very large on the inside, the hallways crowded with many students, both current and future. Surprisingly, there weren't that many students enrolled either.
The future students gathered in a large auditorium where they could spread themselves out easily. Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted to a much more tense feeling. Wu narrowed his eyes and pointed his staff at each of the students as he spoke.
"Many of you came here for some sort of reason. However, I will tell you all right now that not everyone will be able to attend this school. One must be brave, willing to sacrifice everything to be an Elemental Master, the title you earn when you have the ability of an element. Of course," the old man smirked, "you must have magic inside you as well." He clapped his hands. "But that is for the second test. Right now, we begin with your first test: bravery. Who is our enemy?" he asked the children. Several hands went up. Wu gestured to Jay.
"Serpentine," the freckled boy answered. Wu nodded.
"Correct. So now you will all face one." Kai's breath hitched. They had captured a Serpentine? What had the old man done to them?
One of the tiles of the auditorium's floor disappeared and a platform rose, a large vivarium on it. An enormous purple snake slithered inside. "Here, an Anacondrai. Just a baby. Which of you is brave enough to come in contact with it?"
Kai bit his tongue to prevent it from flicking past his lips and out his mouth. It hurt, especially when he accidentally used his fang-like teeth. However, the old man was either lying or was just as ignorant as the rest of these humans that were cowering and shaking, some even near tears. He knew that the snake was not actually an Anacondrai, but because of it's purple scales, people use them to instill fear in one's enemies.
Kai was the first to step forward and approached the vivarium. He removed the cover and reached in, carefully bringing the snake out. Many of the children took several stumbling steps back, including his new "friends". He stroked the reptile's scales and stared into its eyes. He felt the underbelly and smiled.
"Hey, girl. Are you okay?" he whispered. He made sure not to use words with an S so he wouldn't hiss. The snake's head came closer to his face, her tongue flicking at his cheek. He giggled while the others in the room gasped. He heard someone say how gross that was.
"Well, aren't you brave," Wu commented, standing beside the boy. "What's your name?"
"Kai. Kai Smith," the brunet answered. The snake wrapped her body around the base of his neck. Not to constrict him like some of the kids were muttering, but to become closer to him and possibly to feel warm. Although he was part Serpentine, because of his mark, Kai was abnormally warm for both a Serpentine and human. He was glad for that; it would most likely throw everyone off.
"Are you not afraid of the snake, Kai?" Wu asked, stroking his beard. Kai shook his head. "I see. Well, hand the beast to someone else. At least, if anyone is willing."
At this, Jay straightened and stomped forward, holding out his arms. As quietly as he could, Kai whispered an apology to the snake before handing her over to the freckled boy.
Jay sucked air between his teeth, the realization of what he was doing suddenly crashing down on him. He whimpered at the scaly feeling of the snake's skin. Shifting from foot to foot, he hurriedly handed the reptile over to Cole, taking the dark-skinned boy by surprise.
More than half of the children sent back home by nightfall. Those who left were incapable of handling the serpent. Kai shook his head as discreetly as he could. Humans were so, so stupid.
They were ordered to sleep in the auditorium. Until the second test, no one was allowed to have a room. Kai scratched his mark through his sleeve, wondering what the test would be like. He knew he would pass it; he used magic to shed his skin when he desperately needed to.
However, he was nervous. This was his first of many nights away from home. He had grown used to Nya curling into him for warmth. She was colder than him and needed the warmth. He was worried for her but had to remember their parents were still there to take care of her. He had to worry about himself now.
Sighing and flipping onto his back, Kai shut his eyes and fell asleep.
Kai stood in the middle of the auditorium while the rest of the children were against the walls, observing him. He would be the first to take the second test because he was the first to handle the snake.
He felt the old man's staff poke him in the back. He growled softly. It actually hurt a bit.
"What makes you believe you have the ability to be in this school?" Wu interrogated, circling the boy. He narrowed his eyes, almost as if he was scanning him to see what magic he had. "Prove to me that you have magic inside you. Show me what element courses through your veins."
Kai closed his eyes and focused. He remembered the forge in the blacksmith shop. The molten metal. The radiating warmth of his mark...
His ears registered the shocked gaps of the other children and opened his eyes. He still felt warm, much more than usual. He looked down.
He was on fire. The old man stared at him, lowering his staff. He held out a finger and traced in the air. A sigil of a swirling fire took shape. As it faded, Kai felt something burning his left palm. He looked down and saw that the sigil was now branded on his skin. Slowly, the fire went out and the mark, previously glowing, dulled to black ink.
"A Master of Fire. Very powerful. Next!" Kai ran for the wall and watched the testing of the other students. A handful couldn't do anything. But those that could...
Jay sent sparks of electricity, Cole destroyed one of the columns with a small earthquake, and Zane froze the area of the floor he stood on and what surrounded him. One boy with messy grey hair turned into a puff of smoke. While one boy simply disappeared in the light, another jumped from one shadow to another. There were two girls as well, one who nearly made the air unbreathable with toxins and the other changed her shape to look like the old man. Everyone laughed except Wu.
One boy became metal and a blind boy shattered a glass window with a high-pitched scream. One boy with shades and slicked hair moved quicker than what was possible, and another boy with "reverse-skunk" hair was able to figure out what everyone was thinking at that very moment, even the old man. Kai had to make sure he wasn't thinking about his family. Finally, there was one last boy with dark skin and red dreads. He had a difficult time proving he had magic until he touched three people, with Kai being one of them. Soon, the boy was trying to control fire, sound, and metal.
"Ah, amber," the old man said. He traced a sigil that only swirled. "What is your name, boy?"
"Skylor and I'm no boy." There were muttered whispered and snickers. Wu raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Then what are you?" Skylor stepped forward.
"A girl and that's how I'll use my magic," Skylor answered proudly. Wu nodded.
"Then we shall all refer to you as a girl. It only seems right to me. Now, back to the wall!" Wu now stood in the center. "Everyone that is left in this room will be attending this school. Your upperclassmen, Bolobo and Gravis, will take over now." As the old man left the room through the double doors, two men entered from the same direction. One had a full beard and carried a staff wrapped in vines. The other wore a turban and had a goatee. What was interesting was that the second man was not even touching the ground.
"Well, this is the biggest class I have ever seen in my life," the bearded man commented and laughed heartily. "I am Bolobo, Master of Nature."
"And I am Gravis, Master of Gravity. We will be detailing your stay here at Darkley's, what your days will be scheduled as, and, of course, show you all to your rooms," the floating man, Gravis, explained.
"But we must warn you, never misuse your magic. You will be kicked out and possibly stripped of your magic," Bolobo cautioned, a sorrowful look in his eyes. "We had such a case in our year, and two more many years before us." Gravis approached the children and loomed over them.
"Remember that this is also a prestigious school. If we discover any spies or any other traitors, you will suffer the same consequences for misusing magic. Perhaps... even killed." The room fell silent and Gravis smiled. "Thankfully, we never had to deal with such a situation yet. Now, follow us."
Kai looked down and shuddered. Unbeknownst to him, someone else reacted the same way to Gravis's words.
Kai cheered as he jumped and landed face-up on his new bed. His new room was so spacious! He loved it already. He heard Gravis chuckle and looked up.
"What's so funny?" the young boy queried. His upperclassman shook his head.
"No, it just always makes my soul feel lighter when I see people so happy. It's been a while. We've gone years without any new students." A frown took over his face. "You know, this was actually his old room." Kai raised an eyebrow and scooted onto the edge of the bed.
"Who?" He noticed the upperclassman bite his lip before he took a deep breath to answer.
"Morro. He was a Master of Wind. He was a great guy. He was so skilled. But..." Was Gravis crying? "Well, he let the power get to him and went rogue, trying to harness magic that he did not have in him. Wu had to let him go. Well, he says that, but we all know Morro ran away. Now it's just me and Bolobo." Kai tilted his head and frowned.
"I'm so sorry. Small class, I bet." Gravis chuckled at the comment.
"Yeah, it really is. Well, I leave you here. Enjoy your new room. Take... care of it, please." The upperclassman left, finally giving Kai the chance to relax. Quietly, he started to hiss. Watching what he said could be so tiring. It made him appear dumb to others. But they could never understand.
He couldn't wait to learn magic.
See y'all next chapter!