"What's taking so long?" Trenton boomed. The impatient mage flicked his hand and the entrance's door unfolded itself back to its original size in the doorway.

Lance lifted his head, sighed, and floated down to Trenton, who sat down on the runic floor, closed his eyes, and crossed his legs. Mana emanated from his every pore, traveled down his body, and spread like a wave of white light through the rune. A transparent, domed barrier formed around Lance and Doevm. The ice chains melted away, leaving a beaten, unconscious form, just shy of suffering from frostbite.

'I must have looked like this when I first enrolled,' Lance thought as he rolled up his green sleeves. His obsidian bracelet flew off his arm, fused with the jar's lid, and unscrewed it. Clouds of centuries-old dust made Lance's eyes water.

"Was that jar too tough for you, Mr. Hypocrite?" Trenton's taunting voice, even though it was muffled by the barrier, grated against Lance's ears.

Lance didn't dare to take his attention off of Doevm as he replied: "Of course. If not for our Key Passes…Oh that was a joke."

Trenton wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he said, "You know, even rude people will force out a laugh."

"Oh, right." Lance forced a laugh somehow even drier than the dust in his lungs. While Trenton groaned at the decline of his future career in comedy, Lance drew in a deep breath. Mana drifted out of his hands and flew towards Doevm. "I'm starting the process."

"I'm ready when you are." Trenton took a shaky breath and went quiet.

A magic circle formed on Doevm's forehead, more intricate than the runes on the door, more taxing on the mind than any puzzle. Each passing second was another characteristic added on the magic circle's exterior. Beads of sweat rolled down Lance's chin and dripped past the jar, which was held close to the student's face. At any moment, the lid was at the ready, waiting to seal the soon-to-be stolen contents.

The last characteristic formed and almost subconsciously, Lance swallowed his saliva, and dropped his guard. In that single moment, blue life essence repaired Doevm's swollen eye.

Doevm trudged out of the dark recesses of his mind. 'Larque!' The barrier shattered under the force of Doevm's black, chaotic tendrils of mana, which then shot into the ground, out of sight. Lance's concentration didn't waver as he forced mana through his magic circle and into Doevm's mind, his memories.

Doevm's world once again went dark. Not just dark, but black, and cold, and… empty.

A torrent of images within a shrouded mist flew into the jar. The lid twisted into a tight seal. Lance fell to a knee with labored breath. He gently placed the jar on the ground. "Damn it." He punched the ground. A painful shock traveled up from his three remaining knuckles. "Trenton, did your concentration lapse?" He asked as he checked his skin for any cuts.

"No," Trenton rushed over and helped Lance to his feet. "That was something else. I told you something was wrong." He pointed an accusing finger at Doevm, who was now lying on the ground, passed out from the process's strain. "He's not normal, wasn't normal, but we made it through. He's now the same as any other student." He let out a high-pitched cackle as he bent over and picked up the jar, rattling it around. "Want to peek?"

In the jar was the amalgamation of images within a mist, rapidly changing so that no one could make them out, but a simple spell could slow the images to where one could watch through them. The images floated towards Doevm, but not with enough force to matter. "No one would know." Trenton smiled. Lance glared at him. "Come on."

He shook the jar around. All Trenton's over the shoulder glances and twitches were replaced with the rush of victory. Greed widened his eyes. "I don't know what his deal was, and neither does he. He's the only one who has ever broken through that barrier. I doubt even we could have ever done something like that when we were students." He grabbed the lid.

Just before his wrist turned, Lance grabbed him: "If that's another joke, you should work on a spell that makes you funny." He yanked the jar away. "The penalty for failing at any part of this ritual, is death. Not following the procedure for recruitment, is death. I have to report this and…"

"And then what?" Trenton asked, grabbing for the jar, but Lance made it fly out of the mage's reach. Trenton rolled his eyes: "Are you going to get us both killed? We finished the job. That barrier was only there because so many individuals flail about when this process happens. Its only job is to be a back-up plan. If it breaks, the procedure is not messed up."

"Now look who's quoting rules." Lance fired back but sighed in partial resignation. "You only ever know the rules after you've broken one."

Trenton chuckled and pointed to the ground: "The rune doesn't look to be broken. He just got through my mana. I underestimated him. I don't know what spell he used since I had my eyes closed. Did you catch it?"

Lance shook his head. "I don't know. I caught it in my peripherals but it was too sudden, and I didn't see a magic circle." He let out a long sigh, staring at the jar for a few moments before putting it under his arm. "Fine. I won't tell the others. There are some rules even I don't agree with." Trenton reached for the jar again but Lance tightened his grip. "But I'm still not looking. I don't want to break more rules." He floated up and placed the jar by the others. "Not to mention looking would be a violation of privacy."

"I get it. Stick. Up. Ass." Trenton made gestures with each word. Then he froze, for Lance sent him a glare filled with such hate and hostility that, for a second, Trenton wondered if Doevm was the one he should be cautious of.

"I know." Lance whispered, mana crackling around him. He stepped forward and Trenton stepped back. "If you would please cease harassing me for five fucking seconds and remember why that rule was made in the first place-"

"I-I'm sorry," Trenton bowed. "That was insensitive. I didn't mean it." Lance picked up the unconscious student up and threw him over his shoulder, an action he soon regretted because he fell right over. "I'll get him." Before Lance could object, Doevm was encased in a thin layer of ice, just enough to allow him to be moved. Trenton offered the fallen mage a hand.

Lance took the hand and stretched out his aching back. "It's fine. You're one of the few who wouldn't pressure me because of my idiotic prodigy of a sister's actions."

Trenton shook his head: "No, really. I'm sorry." He pat Lance on the back as they walked out. However, just before the door sealed shut, Trenton took one last look over his shoulder before muttering under his breath. "I thought I felt something move back there." He shook his head. "It's not my problem anymore." He slowed his pace to match Lance's. "How about I treat you to some of master's secret stash. I bet they still taste the same even over a decade since we last found his drawer of sweets."

Lance wiped a bit of drool from his chin. "Maybe later." He smiled at the memory. "I first have to adjust Doevm and…is there any trace we left behind? Is there some way they can find out that a barrier shattered?"

"It's fine," Trenton lied through his teeth. "Just never mention this to anyone or our heads will roll. And also, keep an eye on the student so he doesn't draw any attention to us."

Lance frowned "And then will we be in the clear? I've…I've never done something like this…messed something up this bad. Is this what's it like to be you?"

Trenton laughed: "It's fine. You're just too much of a goody two shoes. The way this academy is run, we might have a tight watch on everyone, but if one knows the ins and outs of this place, they can find that there is a lot more than meets the eye."