Chapter 6: Arrival

It was late. Very, very late. It was so late that anyone who was actually awake would glance at their clock and say, "Hey, I should probably get to bed and try to sleep for few hours."

The moon shone in the starless sky down on a sleeping Wizard City. The city was practically silent except for the guards as they switched shifts, protecting the city from the dark fairies and undead monsters that now haunted it while the wizards who fought to destroy them slept safe in their houses and on their personal islands.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the guards and practically invisible in the darkness, a dark carriage, it's path lit by a single lantern hanging next to the door, stole its way down the city roads and towards the center of the city.

When Malistaire had said 'tomorrow', Sibyl didn't expect him to mean at one in the morning. But letting her use his second best carriage, the one that once belonged to his mother, was what Sibyl took as an apology for the early awakening. Malistaire had met her in the carriage house with Camdon, his groundskeeper and driver, and again explained her mission. She was to infiltrate the city and the school, find the Shard of the Star (Sibyl had corrected him, "The shard of a star," but Malistaire had ignored her), and then lead the poor soul back to Malistaire.

After several sleepless hours, Malistaire toyed the prophecy (he'd practically memorized it) and was sure that the girl who'd beaten his draconians with no training and no wand was the Shard of the Star that Sibyl's prophecy had mentioned. He had also assumed that the Necromancer mentioned was him. Sibyl doubted that, since the premonition that accompanied the prophecy had shown her a much younger Necromancer hiding in the shadows, but she didn't want to annoy Malistaire any and let him ramble on about his plans.

Anyway, Sibyl was to infiltrate the city, somehow sneak into Ravenwood, and establish herself in one of the schools.

"Not Balance," he'd rambled on, pacing the length of the carriage house while Sibyl and Camdon harnessed the horses and prepared the carriage. "There are so few of those anymore that a sudden Sorcerer would just draw attention. Perhaps Storm. That one is the most popular and it'll be easy to blend in."

Then she was to locate the girl (Malistaire had called up the crow who'd seen her and used a spell on it's mind to show Sibyl what she looked like), find out how much magic she knew and how powerful she actually was, somehow become her friend, and then lure her to an old path off of Olde Town where Malistaire and Camdon would be waiting to ambush her. Once she was in Malistaire's power, he would then hire a ship to take Sibyl back home to Darkmoor while he took care of whatever he caught. Though it would take time, the plan was relatively simple.

Leaning forward to look out the window, Sibyl looked around in awe at the immaculate grounds that Camdon had now entered. The path they drove down was lined with tall, strong oak trees that had such long branches that it looked like they were holding hands with the tree next to and across from them. The moon shone through the trees and lit the path ahead of them as they drew closer to Olde Town. From there it would just be a hop, skip, and a jump into Ravenwood.

"Whoa," Sibyl could hear Camdon mutter as he reigned the horses that drew her carriage to a stop. She could hear him climbing down along with the sound of her trunk hitting the ground from its place atop the carriage. Then the young man opened up the door and held out his hand to help Sibyl out. Much like before, Sibyl now wore a long skirt, a blouse, and boots that fit her just perfectly. Only now they were Marleybonian in style to go along with the cover story Sibyl had created in order to sneak into Ravenwood. The story was that she was a student who had been studying abroad in Marleybone and was now returning to Ravenwood to complete her studies.

Camdon held out the handle of Sibyl's trunk, which she took, and turned to point down into the small town. "You go down there, through the tunnel, straight through the Shopping District, into the Commons, and up the hill into Golem's Court. That's where the reagent lives. You'll pass the entrance to Ravenwood on your way. Good luck, missy!" With a jump, Camdon was back in the driver's seat. He reigned the horses in again and began back down the path towards the hidden tunnel that would take him back to Drake Mansion. In moments, Sibyl was alone.

After a few moments, Sibyl lifted her trunk and started down the path into the city. A guard saw her and almost raised the alarm, but after noticing the old Ravenwood insignia on the side of her trunk, gestured her on. The next guard, who was patrolling the Shopping District, scolded her for being out so late but let her be. The third guard was sitting with Diego the Arena Master and playing cards in the shade of an elm, but he and Diego only waved at her. She waved back as she climbed up the hill to Golem's Court, noting the position of the tunnel into the famed school.

Mr. Lincoln, the reagent, didn't take kindly to being woken, and when he saw the odd girl with the light hair and equally light eyes claiming to be a student returning home, the stork pulled out his manifest to check for her name. But Sibyl stopped him and explained herself and the late hour. While she was telling her cover story and hoping that she didn't mess up, she called upon an old Moon magic spell that her grandmother had taught her and discreetly added her name to the manifest underneath the tab neatly labeled, 'Abroad Students' while the stork's attention was focused on her.

When Mr. Lincoln glanced down at his manifest again, he immediately noticed Sibyl's name, settled neatly between Jackson Sandriver and Hannah Unicornsinger. But he could swear there'd only been two names on that list before…

"Is there a problem, Mr. Lincoln?" Sibyl asked innocently. Mr. Lincoln looked from the Diviner in front of him to his manifest and back again. Her name was on the list, but it wasn't supposed to be on the list. But the manifest had a full record of all the students currently in Ravenwood and he spent entire days making sure that it was up to date, organized, and completely correct. Maybe he was so tired that he hadn't seen the name before. And with all the funny names that wizards had today, it was very likely that the letters had all run together in his tired eyes.

"No, no problem at all," Mr. Lincoln finally said, putting one finger on the manifest and switching Sibyl's name from abroad to the pages labeled 'Storm Students' with magic. Then he went back into his house and brought out the key to one of the empty dorms. When a student went abroad, their dorm was simply cleared out and saved for other students. Then they would just put the student in another dorm when they came back.

"You don't have any roommates at the moment. Maybe when Miss Unicornsinger returns you two can be roommates…"

Sibyl thanked the stork before she picked up her trunk again and started back down the hill. Meanwhile, the stork rubbed his eyes, returned his manifest to the locked drawer on his desk, and shuffled back to bed.

The guard and Diego waved to Sibyl again as she filed through the tunnel into Ravenwood. When she was inside, she couldn't help but stare in awe at Bartebly. He was sleeping, one eye closed and the other eye long missing. He opened his eye slightly and blinked down at her before he closed it again and fell asleep again. Turning slowly around, now slightly paranoid about a large tree watching her every move, Sibyl unlocked the door to the girl's dorms and walked down the hallways, looking for her dorm. The hall was bigger on the inside, thanks to magic, so Sibyl had to walk down several different halls before she finally found the number on the key. Dorm 3047.

The dorm was scarcely decorated, with just a bed, a lamp, a shelf, a dresser, and a desk with a stool. For now, this was her home.

After dropping her trunk on the floor and trying not to wake up whoever might be living underneath her (the dorm was one level on the outside but was three on the inside due to the magic, and Sibyl lived on the top), Sibyl padded across the floor and sat down on the bed. It was soft and the blankets already felt warm. After having just a mattress and an old, ratty blanket in a locked room in the dungeon for four years, being given this bed was like being given a chest of gold.

Sibyl laid back and closed her eyes. She'd unpack in a little while and then try to get some sleep before classes in the morning. Even though her cover described her as a Journeyman Diviner (kind of an insult really, considering that she was an Archmage Seer), she didn't know one bit of Storm magic and would have to learn enough to pass as a Diviner until she could return to Malistaire and then back home to Darkmoor.

After lying there for a few minutes and trying to figure out how much work she'd have to do within a few days in order to pass as a Journeyman Diviner, Sibyl sighed and sat up. Time to get to unpacking.

Hello, peoples! Yes, I am aware of the late update and I really need to stop doing that but suddenly I'm in the mood to get back into fanfiction while my writer's block stews on the sidelines. So…hello!

3047, did I really just do that? *Cackles* If you figure it out I'm sorry, I had to…

Alex Raventhorn is the property of Starlight in the Sky.

Bianca Glassheart is the property of Velvet Masquerade.

Sarah Bluesong (the Pyromancer that Bianca duels) is the property of Bluepatch.

Destiny Starshard and Sibyl are the property of yours truly.

I'm almost done rewriting my story up to where I am. I'm also planning a semi-crossover with the new game that I'm sure we've all at least registered for, Pirate101. But that's a while off now, as I want to finish SotS first. :)

Anyway, tell me what you think about the story. Thanks for reading and review!