AN: Not much to say for this one. Short, but the following chapter will be much longer. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, elements, or borrowed plot ideas from any source I acquire them from, specifically KingsIsle. I merely own any original characters I create.
"Blah" = talking
"Blah" = thoughts, writing, sound effects, or flashbacks
"BLAH"= Yelling
Sunlight poured down through sparse cloud cover as breezy winds whipped through and over the verdant field. No other noise permeated the area, save for the padding of Fate's feet against the dry ground beneath. The boy moved amiably, head shifting around, not quite sure where to go. The horizon was just as devoid of civilization as his current location.
The only thing of prominence was one oak tree that spiraled into the sky, bountiful leaves a one solid shade of forest green. Its russet bark was craggy with age but strong, a testament to the perils it had weathered throughout its lifetime. For some reason, Fate seemed attracted to the tree and started towards it. At the very least, it could provide a suitable lookout point.
His evergreen eyes drew up as he neared, realizing just how tall it really was. The shadow it cast completely enveloped him; not a single speck of light could permeate the combined shroud of its leaves. He continued gazing in wonder, both awestruck and curious, until a voice more withered than its bark whispered from behind him.
"Seek me out."
Fate's body rocketed forward, and the blanket shielding his legs leaped to the floor. His eyes darted around, checking the surroundings of his room. No one. Not that he and Victoria's lack of time to buy him furniture gave them any place to hide. He waited for at least a minute, simply just trying to calm himself down from his dream. A dream, right. Even though it felt so real, that had to have been a dream. There was no other explanation.
The wafting smell of baking bread cut off his thoughts and concerns, and he scrambled to assemble an outfit and join Victoria down the loft staircase for breakfast in the kitchen. The meal was small in comparison to others, thin slices of Hambrosia and the aforementioned bread, the girl admitting she'd awoken rather late to make anything substantial. Fate didn't have a problem with it; he was thankful for anything at all.
The two were out the door within the next half hour after quick separate baths and the donning of their novice uniforms. The commons were as alive as ever, and the school campus itself was no slouch either, something Victoria found quite odd. The general studies building was particularly busy. Students rushed back and forth between classrooms and lockers, every head she saw buried in a textbook or notes.
"Are they having something today?" Fate pondered aloud to no one in particular. She could only shrug in response.
The duo found their answer soon after they shuffled into their homeroom. Just like in the hallway, anybody that wasn't engrossed in a book was exchanging review questions with friends around them. Victoria and Fate found their usual seats near Tala, whose head was laid flat on the desk. This was the first time they'd seen him since last week, since the situation in Cyclops Lane. He seemed to be in good spirits, greeting the two with a reserved smile, which they returned. Some unknown silent agreement aroused between them not to speak on the event. None knew about it, but they all followed it.
"Hey Tala, did…we have something today?" Victoria queried.
Her response was a perplexed eyebrow, and a small bit of disbelief in his voice. "Wait, you don't remember?" She and Fate shook their heads in unison, and her concern grew at his cryptic response. "Today's the advancement exam."
Victoria and Fate's body froze, and any color immediately drained from their faces.
EXSEED
Tenth Pip: Advancement Exam
Mr. Runewarden's boisterous entrance into the classroom a minute later put the trio and every other student's conversation on pause. His leather messenger bag plopped down onto the front desk, and he spun around to greet his class, obviously exhausted from whatever he was doing.
"Sorry about my tardiness, children." He forcibly calmed himself before continuing. "Now, before we head out I've…" His eyes caught sight of Fate and Victoria, still as visibly stunned as when Tala had broken the news to them. All eyes slowly craned around to watch them. "Are you two okay back there?"
"They're alright." Tala remarked lackadaisically, waving a hand in front of Victoria's face. No response, not even a blink. "They just forgot about the exam today."
"I see." The instructor chuckled a bit, not at their plight but at the humorous reaction to it. "Well I'm sure they'll be alright regardless. Now, does anyone have any questions?"
A number of hands shot up into the air, and at that time Victoria and Fate broke from their trance. Their bodies were still transfixed, but their minds had started up again at least. Fate seemed to be shaking a little even, Tala noticed, but he was sure the boy was only worried about the advent of another exam, which he hated taking. Victoria was concerned about this particular exam, and the notorious reputation it had garnered from the student base.
The first semester advancement was by far the most brutal of the entire Ravenwood curriculum. Not because of its difficulty; there were far harder tests to come. Rather, it was the ramifications of failing this particular test.
Regardless of your overall scores, any student who failed this test would have to repeat the semester over. No exceptions. Ever. All of the hard, backbreaking, mind numbing studying would mean nothing. Anyone who failed their second attempt the semester after was considered incapable of learning magic at the required pace, and would receive immediate expulsions. In effect, an expulsion from magic itself. One could potentially apply at some of the other academies that weren't Ravenwood affiliates, Pigswick and Mooshu among a few others, but very rarely did they ever take 'leftovers' from another academy.
It was also impossible to gauge the actually difficulty of the test. Each year the exam was different: sometimes written, more often than not practical application, and eccentric or grand applications at that. Coincidentally the weaker side of Victoria's skill set.
How in the world could she have forgotten this? The most important event in the first year. The blonde's mind ran through a variety of scenarios and options, but she stopped cold after bribery and blackmail. She wouldn't stoop to Ty's methods. Not that he'd ever done anything remotely like that. It sure sounded like him something he'd suggest, though.
Herbert's voice broke her from her musings. "Everything you've heard about this exam is probably true." He admitted with an apologetic chuckle. "Still, don't let other's experience dictate yours. Runewarden class is going to strut in there with our heads held high. Now, everyone rise and follow me."
Everyone rose, and followed him. Out the door, into the hallway, and down a stretch of corridor with multiple classrooms on either wall. Blain Seastrider, as confident and sure as ever, lead their pack of a dozen and a half students followed some ways behind by a mostly disinterested Tala, a curious Fate, a somewhat depressed Victoria, and the remainder of the quirky characters that comprised the class. Mindi Pixiecrown, Susie Gryphonbane, and Anna Flamewright all repeatedly recited what they could remember cramming down, in case they faced a written test. Sabrina Greenstar and Duncan Grimwater, two polar opposites in every area, surprisingly walked side by side. Apparently they formed some sort of friendship during Cyrus's class project, and it was the last thing anyone would have expected.
The remainder of the students, Victoria couldn't recall, save for three she had made attempts at getting to know over the past few weeks. Alex Greatspell, a fair skinned sandy blonde with a penchant for Cyrus's history class, fiddled with a piece of string to pass time during the march. His test scores were consistently up there with Tala's and, other than his slightly more outgoing personality, she noted many similarities between the two.
Thena Owlfinder trotted carefully behind him, an admittedly beautiful Russel Terrier Marleybonian. A pair of short, floppy ears sprouted out from near crimson shoulder length hair. Foreign students were a minority in Ravenwood for sure, but not anywhere near as sparse as regular humans would be in other worlds. Most classes usually had a twenty five to thirty percent makeup of students from other worlds, but Thena had the distinction of being the only non-humans in the Runewarden fold. It was this that caused Victoria and the other students to notice her, but her standoffish demeanor limited interaction over time. For reasons they didn't understand, the only ones in the class that she regularly communicated were Alex and Pathos Thornriver.
The latter, a tall, feathered-cap wearing brunette, was an unusual occurrence of sorts. Many who had not visited Marleybone were unaware of how large the human population had grown within recent years, people of all kinds drawn to the luxurious amenities it provided. Pathos was the child of two of those humans, and had quite the native accent and gentlemen's silver tongue to prove it. Many assumed Thena's willingness to talk to him ushered out of their shared home world, but that still left Alex, a Cyclops Lane native, unaccounted for.
She hadn't spoken much to any of the others in the class, but could at least relate to them now. They seemed just as worried about this test as she did.
The corresponding series of hallways eventually poured into a massive rectangular room easily twice the size of the gymnasium. Large marble pillars rose along the walls to support the domed glass ceiling, the room's only light source save sconces on each of the pillars. A grand staircase leading up to a second level balcony on the far side overlooked each of the first classes gathered there. A total of six were present, arranged in symmetrical blocks. The Runewarden class found their place in the middle front row, cushioned between the Phantomhide and Duskwallow classes. Victoria recognized a few of them from the entrance ceremony, but her attention was soon drawn upwards towards the balcony.
It was the first time she had seen them all, the first time any of the first years had seen all six professors in one place at one time, not even during the entrance ceremony. Dalia Flamea, Lydia Greyrose, Halston Balestrom, Moolinda Wu, Cyrus Drake…
And his brother. Malistaire Drake.
The six professors stood idly on the balcony, three on each side and split into their elemental and spiritual divisions, more out of habit than any sentiments of superiority between them. Each of their presences demanded a certain level of respect, raw magical power seemingly exuding from their bodies, unseen but ever prevalent. They'd each attained a level the average wizard could only dream of having reached.
And not a single one of them held a candle to the purple robed, kindly old man between them, making his way to the top of the staircase. They didn't need to feel anything to understand how high a dimension Merle Ambrose was in. The old wizard cleared his throat harshly, and as he did everyone stood at attention, and all conversation ceased.
"Welcome, esteemed colleagues of the magical arts. Your assembling here today is the greatest of all trials you will face in your first year at Ravenwood. I hope each of you has prepared for it." Victoria bit her lip as he chuckled. "This examination has far higher a purpose than testing your ability. The professors around me also use this time to examine you; to see which of you they believe is worthy of their discipline."
The assembled group remained perfectly still, each silently harboring one collective thought. Great, now against all odds the test was even more important. Ambrose moved quickly into his concluding statements.
"Some of you may be wondering what this test entails." He smirked a bit. "I'm not one to spoil a good surprise, but I will give you this much. One, we have never done anything remotely like this test before. This is the challenge's first run in the exam test rotation, but be glad in that this one challenge will comprise your entire exam today." That failed to bring anyone's spirits up. Now they only had one shot to pass. "Secondly, figuring out the point of this test will bring you halfway to its solution. The other half relies on your will."
With that, he spun around and a round of applause proceeded. The homeroom professors, under orders from Cyrus Drake who spoke directly after, ushered their classes to their assigned room. The inside of said room was completely, at least for the Runewarden class, was completely barren. White walls, white floors, a white door; it looked more blank than the average hospital room. The only thing of any note was the person-height golden pedestal at the exact center of the room and the multiple three-chair groups placed in patterns near or away from it. A massive, deep purple gemstone, easily the size of two human heads – possibly one of Cyrus Drake's, a few mused – sat atop the pedestal, basking in a sinister aura.
"What is this thing, professor?" Susie Gryphonbane asked on behalf of everyone, eyeing the strange device.
"That, Ms. Gryphonbane, is a Retae Sutol. A powerful device that places the subject in a heavy slumbering state and brings about a dream." Everyone perked their ears as he went on to explain. "The goal of your exam today is simple. You must wake up within a time limit of fifteen minutes. Everyone who succeeds will forget everything that happened during their dream. Everyone who fails is allowed to keep the memory of their dream in its entirety."
"Wait, is that it?" Tala asked, arms crossed. "This hardly seems like an exam."
Everyone was surprised by the professor's answer. Not what he said, but how he said it. It was careful, hesitant, and extremely fearful. "I…assure you, Mr. Mythhammer. This test will be more than a challenge for you. For all of you." The question seemed eerily pointed, but before Tala could queried further, Herbert continued. "Now, all of you will be separated into groups of three. Only one person in your group of three is required to succeed for the whole group to pass the exam."
"Just one? Of three?" Blain Seastrider showed his surprise as well. "Tala is right, there isn't any challenge in this at all." A few of the other students in favor of the current difficulty demonstrated their favor against the back of his head.
"If you so wish to believe." Runewarden's voice was now straight, betraying nothing. Something Victoria, Fate, Tala, and a few others found doubly suspicious. Perhaps he wasn't telling them everything. "As one last word of advice, remember this. The deeper your dream, the greater the stimulus must be used to awaken you. Now, please assemble your group and take a seat."
Grouping was easy for the most part. Victoria, Fate, and Tala made their usual trio within no time at all. Most of the other groups also recalled partnerships during Cyrus's neighborhood project. Duncan Grimwater, Sabrina Greenstar, and Blain Seastrider assembled and exchanged greetings with each other. Mindi Pixiecrown, Susie Gryphonbane, and Anna Flamewright reformed their all female alliance. Thena took the least unnerving of her options and sided with Alex and Pathos. Each of the many triads took their chairs, and when they were properly seated, Herbert dimmed the room sconce before beginning a mystifying chant.
The first half minute or so was awkward, with nothing happening at all. Herbert just continued to recite the chant, and some students swore they'd fall asleep from that if anything. Soon, however, the purple gemstone atop began to glow from the center, spreading in every direction. Once its capacity had been filled with the soft glow, strange things began to happen. All their bodies were drained of energy over the course of three seconds. It soon became a war to keep their eyelids open and their consciousness in check. A futile war. Within the following minute, every eye was locked shut, snoring resounding in specific places around the room.
The professor's eyes scanned the space, and seeing all down for the count, began the timer on his pocket watch. Then, he maneuvered his way through the students, gave the door a turn and push, and wished them all the best of luck.
This examination seemed simple enough on paper, but Herbert Runewarden knew the far reaching ramifications.
Passing this test would require each one of his students to give up their happiness.