Fall of Autumn, Week 5, Day 1

The four of them were lounging around the quadrant, spread out with plenty of space to themselves—even as two of them attempted to whisper across the distance. As I approached, the only girl in the Mithril group sent me a smile, and stood up—followed quickly by the two whispering boys, faces blanching as they scrambled. The fourth boy, the one from outside, also stood. He was unrushed, taking his time to set himself right. He was the nicest dressed of the four of them, in his golden brown outfit with sparkling finish. He was also the only one with any kind of embroidery, a mix of suns and shields decorated the edges of his clothes.

My stomach was growing looser by the second, with the reminder that ultimately these were all children—children in a new world, the same age as little Eunora, and filled with their own worries.

There is no need for this anxiety, Eunora.

I spoke to the part of me that was little Eunora. The part that was still oh, so fearful of being turned away. It didn't help, not really, but it also didn't hurt. And I much preferred that.

It was a long second before I reached where the group was gathering up, all four of the children looking at me curiously. I swallowed thickly, and decided if I could handle the gaggle of nobles from earlier I could handle a Hyperion and… the other three? Merchants most likely —Gills, Munster, and Remour were not Dawn-affiliated names. Of course, it's possible they're like that noble from Poplar earlier. Gills could be from Umbra, and Munster could be from Nemo. But Remour? That's a toss up.

I was halfway to forcing a smile when the two boys rushed up to me.

"Team Mithril!" The one on the left shouted over at the other boy, his shaggy hair jostling with the force of his words and the other boy's sandy hair jiggly slightly as well. "We're finally up to five! That's enough for team spars."

"I know!" The other boy laughed his response. And once he was close enough, he thrust out a hand, "Louis Munster."

On instinct, I reached for his palm. I was about to return the greeting, when the overly excited one chipped in again.

"I'm Beck Gills," he said with a toothy grin. Everything about him screamed 'energy.' From his loose, yellow sweater to the cobalt blue pants he had on—and, especially, the way his dark hair bounced with every word he said.

Behind Louis and Beck was the girl, and until that moment, I hadn't taken in how striking she truly was. From her sparkling pink hair that caused her to shimmer as she walked to her baby blue eyes that softened her face. I wasn't quite sure I'd ever seen such a delicate, doll-like person before, child or otherwise. It was unsettling and soothing both.

"I'm Remour."

Suddenly, I felt the two boys sharpen their eyes, burning a hole in my face—and Louis' hand had tightened its grip. I wondered what it was, what had changed so suddenly, and then I realized the girl hadn't continued.

A commoner. Hardly anyone who has a last name leaves it off. It's a status symbol. Something a family earned, or bought, or stole—but worked for nonetheless.

I felt a genuine smile spread across my face at the two boys. Then I looked back to Remour, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, and pulled my hand away from Louis'—offering it to Remour instead.

"I'm Eunora, but you can call me Nora."

The tension in Louis and Beck dissolved as quick as it came, and they were back to their light smiles. I felt the tightness in my shoulders ease as Remour took my hand, gentle as her expression.

"Dawn." I turned to the final boy in the fanciful clothes. He had to be the Hyperion.

With a single word, I felt the weight of my name. The meaning of my status. The cost of the privilege I had been given—the gems in my hair, a Noble [Class], a squire watching me from the hallway. How else could I explain the gravity with which such a small boy used my name?

My throat grew tight once again, but still I looked directly into his honey-colored eyes and spoke, "Hyperion. I'd prefer Nora."

He narrowed his eyes, his deep golden hair curling around his face, and he nodded.

"Uriel, then."

I glanced at the four of them, a shaky smile reappearing, "It's—"

"Mithril! Get to it! We don't have all day." The sharp voice of Instructor Druigach called us all to attention with little jumps.

The other four turned, their faces paling, and rushed off to the weapon bay pushed up against the wall. I followed quietly behind, unsure of what to do other than clutch the rune filled plate in my left hand.

When we got there, I noticed a line of bags and hesitated for only a moment before gently lowering my bag with Noir in it.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

It's fine. He'll be right here. I can see him the whole time.

I took a step away from my bag, a step closer to the weapon bay, paused, glanced back at where I knew Noir was tucked away, and debated how poor of an idea it would be to animate him.

Very poor. Note to self: animate Noir before we get to the Academy.

I flexed my hand at my side, off put by the fact that I could only do it with a single palm, then I made my way up to the weapons bay. I watched as the Mithril group each took out their own plates, running their fingers over the runes, and them all alighting in a purple glow. I followed their lead, holding up my own plate and setting it aglow. The purple light cast a sickly hue against my hand, but did not reflect off my bangles and nails, their shadow sucking up the light that hit them. The feeling of icy mana on my fingertips was hardly noticeable compared to the chill of the courtyard, but it was calming nonetheless.

Ahead of me, I watched as Uriel stepped up to the weapon bay. He held out his plate, just a few inches from the metal knob, and a slow-moving glow began in the knob and spread out across the metal door into the foreign shape of runes. None of them looked like the ones in My First Spellbook, but then again these runes all looked as if there were forty two steps to drawing them. Once the borders of the door were fully lit up and connected in a square, a loud clang sounded, and Uriel pulled open the weapon bay.

He grabbed a spear. Or, rather, he pulled out a wooden pole with a dull metal tip vaguely shaped like a spear. Closing the weapon bay, he went back to the center of the Mithril quadrant and leaned against his spear.

Next was Remour, who held up her plate to the door before the runes dulled and pulled open the weapon bay quickly. Barely even looking, she pulled out a sword.

"Again? But it'll be a new season!" Beck whined, and Remour closed the door and shot him a smile.

"Every chance I get."

Both Beck and Louis made a face at that, and when Beck went up to the bay he pulled out a pair of daggers. Louis pulled out a sword.

Suddenly, it was just me. And a weapon bay filled with blanks. And a class full of children who were more capable than me at making such a choice. I closed my eyes and pulled open the door and grabbed the first thing my fingers touched. Opening my eyes I looked at what I was holding.

A sword.

Scrunching my nose, I dropped the blank and grabbed a set of daggers. I'm not into getting that close to something else. I'd rather throw a blade than taste it.

Turning back toward the rest of the Mithril group, I took a spot toward the empty center of the group. We were spread out, with the other four near the corners and me in the middle. It gave us all plenty of space to swing. I gripped the daggers tightly, and the muscle in my wrist tightened.

Much like the enchanted plate, this dagger had deep grooves across it forming runic symbols. The hilt of each dagger was producing a dim light and I was sure the only reason I could see it was because of my Perception.

Holding the wooden daggers up into the air I examined them.

[Inspect]

[Enchanted Training Dagger - Tier 2, Uncommon]

[A wooden dagger made by a master craftsperson and enchanted by a specialized support mage. Shaped from Priar Wood. This Enchanted Training Dagger is capable of adjusting to strengths of those who have achieved a double Common Class through Tier 2 Level 40. Maximum Strength recommended is 80. Additional enchantments have been layered to provide the dagger with the ability to equalize with the lowest strength weapon within a range of 10 yards that possesses a resonating rune sequence.]

[Crafted by Greynar Minos of the Fellan Swordsmanship Academy]

[Enchanted by Gillian Frite of the Magic Tower of Fellan]

I hummed in acknowledgment and dismissed the notice. I'd be okay for a while yet, my strength was only at 30. Besides, after reaching Level 10 in [Inspect], the Skill had been working overtime on information. It was reassuring, to know I'll never be left wholly ignorant. Never fully educated, but never at the bottom of the barrel.

Well, maybe eventually I'll feel caught up.

"All right! I'm going to start with specialized weapons now, come up if you want something different." Instructor Druigach said from the back of the courtyard, a fifth weapon bay unexpectedly behind her. Only a few students went up. Each time, the instructor took their plate and held it up to the weapon bay before searching through the box herself for a training weapon. One student got a narrow sword that flared out at the tip, another got a circular weapon that looked like a chakram, and the last got… Is that a morning star?

I blinked, looking around briefly before settling back on the last kid with the spiked club in his hand.

That's definitely a morning star.

As I was busy looking around, Instructor Druigach had pulled out a clipboard and was gesturing around the courtyard.

"Choosing time is over! You should know the drill by now—follow the directions for your best chance at getting a weapon Skill. If you already have a Skill, practice the general Skill until I come along and we'll see if we can get you a specific style." Instructor Druigach shouted from the edge of the courtyard, snapping her fingers and sending dozens of a dozen wisps of red light through the courtyard. Three went to each section, hovering toward the front edge of each area.

The red lights began to grow and shift, going from small wisps to child sized versions of the instructor. One held a set of daggers, another a spear, and the third a sword. As I watched, the three images began moving. I focused on the imitation instructor wielding the daggers.

She stood upright, her back straight and her arm loose at her side before lifting one of her arms and pointing the dagger out, roughly at shoulder height. She stood like that for several seconds before thrusting out. Upon returning back to the upright stance, she slashed. Then she shifted the height of the dagger, and repeated the thrust and slash actions. Finally, she flipped the dagger around holding the blade facing her and the spine of the dagger facing out.

Around me, the other kids were mimicking her movements. After watching the faux instructor begin to repeat the movements, just with the dagger in the opposite hand, I started to follow along.

It was simple movements, but they were unfamiliar—and I wasn't used to the weight of the dagger. Fortunately, Dexterity is a soft attribute, and it stopped me from stumbling too much.

As I followed the instructor, I let the world around me fall away. I let the other kids' movements disappear. I ignored it when Instructor Druigach came near to talk to Remour. Then Uriel. And Louis and Beck. She stood near me for several minutes, but never stopped me from following the faux instructor, only occasionally knocking my elbow or pushing my foot around.

Soon enough though, she was gone. Doing rounds elsewhere.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.