Chapter 7: Day Two

Destiny

"Destiny, Professor Ambrose sent over your schedule! Get up!"

I opened my eyes to see a white stone wall on front of my eyes. I blinked twice, rubbed he sand out of my eyes, and rolled out of bed onto my feet on the floor. For a moment I stood there, looking around, remembering everything that happened yesterday. And also that Bianca had said that we had to be at Ravenwood by eight.

The door flew open and Bianca stood in it. She held out a pair if clothes that looked a mite too small, but would probably still fit. With one raised eyebrow, she said, "Professor Ambrose sent me a letter and told me that you wouldn't have any clothes except what you're wearing. That's a little…weird, honestly. Didn't you bring any others from your house?"

I stayed silent and took the clothes. They were green with red and yellow accents on them, much different than my white outfit.

"I can take you shopping for more clothes during free period," Bianca offered as I took the clothes. "It's just a half hour but we can get a lot done. Plus, we can get you some clothes that aren't all white. Anyway, Professor Ambrose sent you a letter, your schedule, and the key to your dorm. You're in Room 1304. Don't be surprised when the girl's hall is bigger on the inside." I smiled for a moment at that last part.

Bianca handed me the three items and then left to let me get dressed. While I was getting dressed in the clean clothes (they were actually almost the right size, just a bit tight around the waist), I opened the letter and examined my schedule.

Destiny,

I've sent Miss Glassheart these three things, as I've been told by Professor Wu that you're staying with her tonight while we prepare your room. The dorms are on either side of the tunnel entrance right when you come in, the girls on your left and the boys on your right. Yes, they are bigger on the inside. Why? Magic.

I smiled again while I thought of not only the TARDIS but also the Harry Potter tents.

A few words on the dorms: The dorms hold over three hundred students each, so it's likely that you'll run into many of them on your way in and out. The dining hall serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at eight in the morning, twelve thirty in the afternoon, and six in the evening respectively. Food is free in exchange for student help with preparation, serving, and clean-up. My awareness is that usually kitchen duties rotate from group to group every week and the schedule is usually posted in the commons of the dorms.

Your dorms are completely protected from theft due to some rather nasty Fire spells that the alumni placed on them long ago. You are allowed to decorate your dorm anyway you want. Finally, you will be rooming with Miss Sarah Bluesong, a Pyromancer.

New students are also given a chest to place belongings. Inside there is also a small sack which contains your student allowance, which is refreshed every two months with one hundred coins. Due to the fact that you have no clothes except what you wore yesterday, I've added a little extra. There is no need to pay me back, I assure you. Students usually work around campus and help with odd jobs around the city and in the Shopping District to make more money. Your chest will also contain

Here he bulleted with squiggly lines,

~ A library card (I'm sure you will love our library)

~ A book on the History of Magic (you'll get the individual sets later, but this explains magic as a whole)

~ A book on the History of the Spiral

~ A small pamphlet on how to properly hold a wand

~ Three scrolls containing 1) The Rules of Ravenwood, 2) The Laws of Wizard City, and 3) The Wizard Code which also explains what is required of our wizards around the city outside of study

~ A booklet with maps of Wizard City

~ A satchel with which to hold your spell deck, your wand, books, money, and any other items you may need to carry with you

As I read down the list, I got a little excited. Compared to math, history, and English textbooks, history on magic and new worlds and scrolls and pamphlets and books sounded like so much fun.

Gamma has examined and reexamined the test that I had you take when you arrived (he's the one who monitors and constantly updates it, anyway) and has told me that you have not only a fantastic aptitude for Theurgy, but also for Divination (Storm magic). I have informed Professor Balestrom of your situation and he is more than happy to add you to his second period roster.

The schedule may seem a bit odd at first, but I'm sure that Miss Glassheart would be happy to assist you in making sense of it. Students are usually given their core studies first, and then the opposite of their school at the end of the day. For example, a Fire student would be studying Fire first thing in the morning, and then Ice at the end of the day.

I hope that you have a fantastic first-second day at Ravenwood and in the Spiral. If it suits you, please come for tea at five thirty tonight so we can chat and I can answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Professor Merle Ambrose

Headmaster of the Ravenwood School of the Magical Arts

My schedule was handwritten in a hand drawn table inside of a scroll. It did look a little odd at first glance, but upon closer inspection it was actually pretty simple. I'd just have to figure out where and what each class was and meant. I would be having Life from eight thirty to nine thirty, then Storm from nine thirty to ten thirty. After that was Fire (ten thirty to eleven thirty), then Myth (eleven thirty to twelve thirty, and then lunch (twelve thirty to one) and free period (one to one-thirty), when Bianca would show me around and help me find some clothes. The last two periods were Ice (one-thirty to two-thirty) and Death (two-thirty to three-thirty).

Underneath that were a couple of footnotes. The first was about 'Balance' (I remembered the dog, Arthur Wethersfield, from yesterday) and that it didn't yet have a proper school. Instead classes took place in Olde Town after the class met with Mr. Wethersfield. For a moment I wondered why Balance wasn't on my schedule but waved it off.

The second explained a 'Wandless Spells' course and that it was basically a gifted-and-talented after-school have-to-be-asked-to-join class taught my Professor Ambrose's owl Gamma. Underneath the Professor had drawn and arrow to the footnote and written 'We will talk about this at tea tonight if you choose to come.'

The third explained a small 'incident' with the Death school a long time ago and that it was now in Nightshade with Dworgyn, behind the waterfall in the Commons.

The rest of the page contained a large seal that appeared to be the Ravenwood emblem.

"Are you ready to go?" Bianca asked, knocking and then opening the door. I picked up the letter, the schedule, my wand, and the key to my dorm (it was a green piece of smooth wood painted with the Life rune and the room number underneath), and nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Bianca

Destiny seemed pretty calm for her first day, not at all like when I started a few years ago. We got there a little early, at seven fifty, so we sat in the girl's dorms commons for a moment and figured out her schedule.

"There are seven schools. Well, ten, but I'll explain those in a minute. We have Life, Death, Fire, Ice, Storm, Myth, and Balance. People only take Balance nowadays if they actually score that on the test or if they ask nicely if they can study it. There's not a lot of Sorcerers anymore, actually; I've only seen about three kids who wear tan and red and about ten more who study it. And usually they study it because they don't want to take Death with Dworgyn."

"What's wrong with Dworgyn?"

"Nothing, it's just that he's a bit off-putting and creepy to some people. I like him; he's like a crazy funny uncle and if you're bullied or hurt or shoved he won't stand for it. And he brings cookies to class every once in a while. And of course there's the magework..."

"What's magework?" Destiny asked as I trailed off.

"Well, it's a...um...he shows us how to uh...you know what, I can't really explain it. School started about a week ago, so you just need to wait a couple of weeks and you'll find out.

"Anyway, so you'll just go to the correct school when your schedule says, simple as that. The other three schools are supplementary and you have to be a Grandmaster to even think about studying them. They're Sun, Moon, and Stars; I think they're what Professor Ambrose does…The professors always call him an Astronomer."

"Does anyone study them as their main?"

"Oh no, that's impossible. They're just supplementary, not enough spells and lore for it to be a main. Well, not here at least. But all three combined, I guess they could be…Well, they are because Professor Ambr–"

"Hey, are you Destiny Starshard?" We both looked up to see the Pyromancer I dueled yesterday, Sarah Bluesong.

"Hey, I'm Sarah Bluesong, your roommate. Welcome to Ravenwood!"

"Thanks," Destiny said. She barely had the word out before Sarah snapped her schedule out of her hands and looked it over. "Aw, you don't have any classes with me!"

"Sorry," Destiny apologized sincerely.

"Don't be sorry! You've got Bianca for at least two classes, it looks like, so that's good!" Sarah leaned forward and I could hear her whisper, "Until yesterday when you arrived, she used to be popular. But she shunned her group just so she could show you around and make sure you had a friend."

Sarah sprung back and announced, "Well, breakfast time! I've got some makeup work for Professor Wu–Ugh, I'm horrible at Theurgy–so I've got to get breakfast and run. See ya later!"

Destiny looked over at me and whispered, "You dissed your clique for me?"

"Yeah," I explained, "You were new and you looked lost and scared and you were going to need a friend. And they were always making fun of people and when they started making fun of the brand new girl I just snapped."

"Thank you," Destiny whispered, giving me a light hug.

"You're welcome," I responded, smiling. "Let's go get breakfast before class starts, you'll love it!"

After a nice breakfast of eggs and toast, I walked Destiny around and around Bartebly, showing her the schools, the trees, and the towers that the Professors worked and lived in. She noted that it was all a little crowded together, until we got to where the Death school had once been.

"Uh…I assume that this is the 'incident' that Professor Ambrose referred to?"

"Yep," I answered as we stood over the gaping hole. "The professors don't talk about it, but I heard Professor Falmea talking about how someone named 'Malistaire' snapped so quickly after his wife died–hey are you okay?"

Destiny had paled a bit at the mention of 'Malistaire' but she shook it off and answered, "Nah. So what happened to the school?"

"Well, Professor Greyrose said once that Malistaire snapped and used an earthquake spell to sever the school and the tower and send it flying down. They were able to stop the Death school's decent a little so it settled neatly in Nightshade, way down there. Dworgyn was inside and he thinks that the fact that he was in the school is why he survived–he always loved the school and teaching in it–so he's barely every left except to go to his room in the tower. That didn't make it down so easily but he's cleaned it up nicely. Nightshade was just discovered when it crashed, so Dworgyn got to name it and they gave the land to him."

"Excuse me, please back away from the edge!"

I groaned and muttered, "Just ignore him and start walking."

"Who is it?" Destiny asked as we skirted the hole and started up the hill.

"Malorn Ashthorn. He thinks that he was the best student before the crash and now he tries to deal Death magic teaching under the table in exchange for favors. And–"

"Oh, hi, Bianca!" I heard him call just as we reached the top of the hill to go around the hole.

"–I think he has a crush on me."

Destiny glanced back for a moment, wrinkled her nose, and muttered, "He's not your type anyway. Looks like a jerk."

We laughed and continued on until we were on the other side. Students were beginning to mill around and Bartebly announce that it was five minutes till class time.

"That's all I can show you right now. We both have Life class first. You usually get about five minutes passing period but they put the times back to back so students know they can't dawdle. Let's go!"

Destiny

My first period on the first day of school was Theurgy, during which Professor Wu began teaching the next spell for all students. Everyone went at their own pace, so if you were a Magus you would get the level thirty spell but if you were just beginning like me and a couple of other students, we learned the level one Life spell, the Imp.

Apparently almost everyone was given the cards so they didn't have to use the incantations, but were encouraged constantly to learn the incantations because "Someday you might be in a rough spot and not have your cards." Bianca mentioned that the Professors were thinking about making knowing the incantations a requirement in order to receive the card and move on.

Professor Wu also made it clear at the beginning of her class that you shouldn't think that you can just perform a spell without a wand, and that you have to be extremely powerful or extremely advanced in order to perform Wandless Spells. For a moment I was confused, because yesterday afternoon I'd used several spells without a wand. Then I looked down at my schedule in my lap and saw Professor Ambrose's written note about Wandless Spells and figured we'd get that squared away later.

After just a few minutes with the Imp spell example in my hand, I had it down. Taking what Bianca said about incantations maybe becoming a requirement, I even learned the words underneath the painting. Soon, Professor Wu gave me my own Imp card and a small, intricate box to put cards in. The Imp I'd summoned tried to steal it but I just slashed my wand through it, exploding it into leaves and sending it back to wherever Imps come from. Then Professor Wu brought me the next level card example (a Leprechaun), offhandedly mentioned that it was only five minutes in and I'd already done would took at least the whole class period twice over to do, and left me to practice.

After class was over, Professor Wu gestured me over to her desk. I already had three cards (Imp, Leprechaun, and Legend Shield) in my deck.

"You are progressing very quickly for your first day," Professor Wu began. She reached into her desk and pulled out two books, a Theurgy textbook and a book labeled 'The History of Life Magic'.

"I would highly suggest studying these. All the card examples are contained in the back of the textbook, and–now I barely ever do this–I recommend that you do some after-school studying. You are showing very high potential, Miss Starshard. I think that you might soon surpass your fellow Novices."

"Thank you Professor," I stuttered, taking the books and setting my deck box on top of them.

"My pleasure. Have a good day and a good weekend!"

In all the hullabaloo and my first day of school, I'd practically forgotten that it was Friday.

"Hey Destiny!" Just as I was moving on to my next class, Storm, I turned to see Sarah running up. "I got your satchel for you," she began, out of breath. She handed the small bag to me and continued, "You're going to get a lot of books today, it looks like, and you need some place to put your stuff. Oh, and here's your student allowance."

"Thanks!"

"It's bigger on the inside, so don't worry about needing to carry twenty things. See you at lunch!"

The rest of my first four periods moved smoothly. I learned the first Storm spell (a Thunder Snake) from Professor Balestrom (who was a frog, but after meeting a talking cow and a talking dog I didn't say anything) while the other kids wrote theories on how Diviner's accuracy and health could be increased, since the Diviners had the least of both.

Fire went by without anything interesting. Professor Falmea had us all read a chapter out of The History of Fire Magic and then write a brief summary of what we'd read. Fire magic history was very interesting, what with it being one of the original three magics. When class was out again and we left with the book in hand, I had my nose buried in it. When you add magic to something, it gets so much more interesting.

My last class before lunch and free period was Myth. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was a man who looked almost exactly like Malistaire standing at the head of the class, except with lighter hair, eyes, and robes. But his scowl was the same.

"That's Professor Drake," someone said behind me. I turned to see Alex, who had stopped in the door and was leaning inside towards me. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite. He's actually very nice and funny when you get to know him."

And off he went.

Myth went by smoothly. I sat in the back of the room with one of the girls I met in Storm and learned about some basic mythology and lore behind the creatures that Myth wizards (called Conjurers) summoned. When it was over, I was the second person out the door with the 'History of Myth Magic' in hand. Even though the Professor was nice enough, he still scared me a bit. Especially when he looked exactly like (who I assumed was) his brother.

Bianca

At lunchtime, Destiny and I sat at a table in the back of the girl's dining hall. She already had five books in her pack, and, while she was eating, she pulled out the 'History of Storm Magic' and read it in her lap while she ate.

"So, what do you think of Ravenwood so far?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I love it here. It's really a lot of fun."

"Fun?" I tipped my head. "Don't you think it's a lot to take in? And there's a lot of work to be done. And sometimes it's boring."

"Please, this is like a fun park compared to what I used to learn."

"What you used to learn?"

"Yeah." Destiny stopped talking for a moment while I waited for her to elaborate.

"What you used to learn?" I repeated, hoping to get an explanation out of that.

"I'll explain some other time," Destiny whispered quietly. Suddenly Sarah plunked down across from us, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and started eating.

"So hey," Sarah began after she swallowed, "Is anyone up for a duel later on in the Arena? I've learned like three new spells today and I want to try them out. How 'bout you, Destiny?"

"Huh, what?!" Destiny started, looking up from her book and looking around.

"Do you want to have a practice duel in the Arena later?" Sarah asked again.

"Um…I've only learned a few spells… And I'm supposed to have tea with Professor Ambrose tonight…"

Just then I noticed a Life textbook sitting in her bag. Which meant Professor Wu was having her practice by herself, which meant that she had all the card examples in there. And she said that she was having fun and loving school, and she could barely get her nose out of the Storm magic book, so…

"How about Tuesday?" I offered. "Give her an extra day to learn some more spells."

"BIANCA."

"Sure, sounds good. I think I'm going to have some more Life makeup for Monday anyway. Hey, how about we make a bet about it, Destiny?"

"What kind of bet?" Destiny asked quietly as she finished her lunch.

"I'm terrible at Life magic, you're a Life wizard. If I win you help tutor me, and if you win then I…What do you want?"

"Nothing, really. I'll help you out anyway. But I just started, so I don't know how much good I'll be to you."

"That's fine! But if you figure out what you want if you win, then just let me know. Now, I have to go see Professor Drake. Myth is my secondary school, and my Cyclops card tore. Don't know how, don't know why, but it did and I need a new one. And knowing Professor Drake he's going to make me learn the incant in order to get a new one! Anyway, see you two later!"

Sarah stood and went to put her plate in the sink. When she was gone, Destiny closed her book and smacked my shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"I started today, Bianca! I can't enter a duel!"

"Yes you can. You said that you love school yourself and Professor Wu gave you the Life magic textbook, and every person knows that the textbooks have all the card examples in the back of them. It's obvious that she wants you to practice, and it's crystal clear that you'll be practicing and learning new spells like crazy over the weekend! You're going to be moving up ranks before you even know it and by Tuesday you'll be more than ready to duel Sarah."

Destiny stayed silent for a moment and then sighed, "Fine, you're right. I'll probably be working all week. But I don't have to like that you got me into a duel."

"Hey, I'll make it up to you. You done with lunch? We're done early, so we have forty-five minutes for free period. Let's go find you some new clothes."

The Shopping District was a bit crowded with people milling around, shopping for food, robes, hats, boots, and whatever else you need when you live in Wizard City. For a moment Destiny was a bit nervous (I don't think she liked the crowd), but when I started pulling her towards the robe shop she calmed down a bit.

The robe shop was empty and Mr. Darkwood wasn't busy with a customer at the moment, so Destiny and I walked right up to him.

"Hello, Miss Glassheart!" the large black man began, shaking my hand warmly in his huge one. "How are you? Your family? Oh, who's your friend?"

"This is my friend Destiny Starshard, Mr. Darkwood," I began. "She just started today and she needs some new robes."

"Well fantastic! Step right over here and we'll get you measured. Now, what's your primary and secondary school?"

Destiny glanced over at me as Mr. Darkwood put on a pair of glasses and pulled out his measuring tape while she stood on top of a little circular pedestal.

"She's a Life wizard and her secondary magic is…"

"Storm," Destiny answered as she caught on, spreading her arms so Mr. Darkwood could measure the length.

"Purple and green will go really nicely together," Mr. Darkwood said. "Now, what did you clothes look like when your professor cast the personality spell on them?"

Destiny described her white outfit from yesterday and Mr. Darkwood nodded when she finished.

"Alright, let me see your coin purse."

Destiny reached into her bag and pulled out the small burlap sack. Mr. Darkwood looked inside and after a moment said, "I can give you four outfits and still leave you with enough money for shoes and hats. Is that alright with you?"

"Yessir," Destiny answered.

"I'll give you a regular outfit, an outfit for colder weather, and a backup outfit for both. Be right back!"

After a few more minutes, during which Destiny and I looked at the beautiful outfits that Mr. Darkwood had put in the store window, he came back with four outfits floating after him, standing up as if they were on mannequins.

"The measurements are perfect and they should fit you just perfectly. As you grow I'll resize them for you if you want to keep them." With a flick of the small wand he kept on his desk, the robes started folding themselves and packing themselves into a box, which then tied itself neatly with a bow. "That'll be one hundred and fifty coins, don't worry, that's barely a sixth of what you have in there, thank you. Now you have a good day!"

"I like him, he's nice," Destiny said once we were out of the robe shop with her box.

"Yeah. He's very nice and fair and if you're ever in trouble, he's one that'll take care of you like you're his own daughter. Anyway, onto boots! Or…we can just get those dyed the right colors for you."

"Let's get another pair and then dye these."

Destiny loved Mrs. Windsong as well, and, while she was back putting the shoes together, said she reminded her of her aunt. Mrs. Windsong brought out Destiny shoes. The shoes were tall like her regular boots and warm-looking, but a bit sturdier.

"I'll go get these shoes and your hat dyed," I told her after she tried on Mrs. Windsong's new shoes and paid her. "You go to the hat shop down at the corner. A wizard's outfit is never complete without the hat. The hatter's name is Ms. Silverthistle, you'll like her too."

After the dyeing was done thanks to Mrs. Whisperwind's magic skills, I met up with Destiny at the fountain. She held her new hat, a shorter one green one with gold accents, in her hands. When we met up, she put on the green one, which looked very nice on her. I handed her the box with her dyed shoes and we started down the path back to the Commons. We'd gotten all the shopping done in twenty minutes and now we had twenty-five more to do whatever we wanted.

When we were back in Ravenwood, I sat down on one of the benches while Destiny went up to see her new home, drop off her books, and change into some better fitting clothes. When she came down, she took a seat and reopened her Storm magic history book to the page she'd been on.

"If the Tritons and the Dragons and the Giants had just talked…" she murmured. I laughed and opened up my card box to check over my cards.

"Uh…hi, Bianca."

I looked up from examining my spell deck to see Alex Raventhorn standing next to the bench.

"Hi! Alex, right?"

"Y-yeah," he swept his blue and black hat off of his head and nervously rubbed the fabric between his fingers. Destiny turned her head and looked over my shoulder at Alex. While he was working on what to say next, I asked quietly, "Why's he so nervous?"

"You know why," Destiny answered in a sing-songy voice. "I'll just…give you two some privacy."

"NO," I snapped, grabbing her arm and pulling her back down.

"Um, uh…"

We all sat and stood there for a moment. Destiny was staring at her book but I could tell she wasn't paying a bit of attention to the cutthroat world of Storm Triton royal courts.

"Um…"

"Spit it out, man," Destiny muttered. I shoved her shoulder and Alex gulped before he said, "Bianca, would you…uh, like to come to lunch with me tomorrow?"

Destiny's hand tightened on her book and her smile just got wider while my nervousness just grew.

"Where? When?"

"In Olde Town? Around…noon?"

I'd had boys flirt with me before, but none of them had ever asked me out, not really. Now it was my turn to be nervous. What was I supposed to say?

"Psst," Destiny whispered in my ear. "Your line is, 'Yes, Alex, I'd love to have lunch with you tomorrow.' Anytime."

But I was thinking. Was I strong enough to let somebody in like this? It could be just a date and goodnight, but if it grew into something bigger, could I deal with it?

Yes, I suppose I could.

"Yes, Alex, I'd love to have lunch with you tomorrow," I finally said with a smile.

"G-great! I'll, uh…see you later then."

And off he went.

"Bianca and Alex, sittin' in a tree!" Destiny sang teasingly. I shoved her shoulder but she just went on, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G." I grabbed her book out of her hands and smacked her shoulder like she had earlier just as Bartebly rumbled, "Stop teasing, Miss Starshard."

But you could hear the impossibly old, impossibly wise tree humming Destiny's odd little song. Embarrassed for a moment, I buried my face in my hands.

"Payback for setting me up on a duel," Destiny teased before she stood up, gathering her wand, her bag, and her books. Bartebly stopped humming to announce, "Class resumes in five minutes."

"See ya in Nightshade!" Destiny called as she started off towards the Ice school, even though she knew she had about ten minutes till class really started. I smiled. At least she was having a good first day at school.

Hello, peoples!

I know that I've misspelled Bartebly's name (it's actually spelled Bartleby) but I'm just going to write it this way because that's how I thought it was spelled and I like the pronunciation a bit more.

Another little joke with Destiny's room number, though it's not really a joke and it's barely recognizable, and not at all like Sibyl's 3047. (47 is the atomic number for silver. Thirty pieces of silver. I'm sorry. :P)

On Sibyl's name: Jessica RavenGlade, thank you for your names, I'm going to use 'Nightpool'. Thank you so much if you submitted and you're all awesome. :D

Alex Raventhorn is the property of Starlight in the Sky.

Bianca Glassheart is the property of Velvet Masquerade.

Sarah Bluesong is the property of Bluepatch.

Destiny Starshard and Sibyl Nightpool (last name courtesy of Jessica RavenGlade) are the property of yours truly.

I am now done rewriting the story! If you're reading this and you've been here for a while, please go back and check them out, because there's a lot of new details and important things.

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. :)

Now that I start thinking about it, I realized that this story is going to end up being LONG. But the quest to save the Spiral will begin soon, and it's going to be a tale of epic proportions.

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