The outside of the building had only taken up a small amount of space--similar in size to the orphanage in Velin--but the inside was vast, causing Torrin's eyes to widen in shock. Torrin noticed runes inscribed along the inside of the building's walls. Taking a closer look, he wasn't able to understand their meaning, but they felt familiar to him.

Seeing the boy's curiosity, the king explained, "We were able to make this building hundreds of years ago with the help of your master, The Silver Witch, and another member of Virtus, Lars. It's about the only good thing Virtus did around here..." King Fellen's voice trailed off ominously, causing Torrin to bring his full attention on the regal elf.

"Grams helped with this? No wonder the runes looked familiar..." Torrin mumbled to himself, with exasperation clearly written on his face.

'Why can't that old hag ever explain anything before sending me somewhere?! It's clear that Virtus and the elves didn't part on the best of terms...' Torrin shouted internally.

Torrin took in the rest of the building, the sound of combat echoing throughout the open space. At a quick glance, he saw around forty or so elves of varying ages training furiously, honing their weapon skills and magical abilities.

Young Elven mages stood paired together within circles, their actions looked like some sort of dance as they sent various attacks hurtling back and forth. Beside each circle were what looked like four large rune-inscribed bowls, each one containing a different element--a fire roared from within one, another filled to the brim with sand and stones; water swirled languidly in the third, and the last was seemingly generating a current a wind from within.

His gaze landed on a pair of young elves and he watched their movements with fascination. The leftmost elf gathered sand and stones from the bowl without touching it, the debris swirled around him as he moved his arms and upper body in an entrancing way. The gathered stones and sand circulated around him, following his movements, and gaining momentum--slowly merging together into a sharpened spear of earth. The boy stepped forward and with a motion of his arms, sent the spear hurtling towards his partner.

Instead of blocking the attack or dodging, the elf on the right moved their body along the trajectory of the incoming earthen spear, raising her arms as it reached her, seeming to catch it between her hands with an invisible force. The spear moved around her and was broken down once more. Soon all that remained of the spear was a cloud of sand and small rocks that swirled around the girl, as her body moved in flowing motions just as the other elf's had.

Torrin watched the pair for a while as they cycled between using the available earth and water to practice, flowing it around them before solidifying it into a weapon and shooting it toward the other. His gaze wandered off eventually, straying towards a pair of older looking elves dressed similarly to Ollivel near the back of the large training hall.

The pair held different weapons in hand, clashing and clanging, attacking and deflecting, and using multiple elements simultaneously to attack and defend as well. No runes gathered around the mana that was being formed and shaped. Torrin stared at the battling elves in awe, this was his first time seeing mana used so fluidly.

'If Ollivel had been fighting me all-out... I would have been dead within moments...' Torrin thought as the realization washed over him like a cold bucket of water, almost making him physically shiver.

The thought made Torrin realize he had been standing in the doorway staring with wide eyes and open mouth for an extended period of time. Coming back to his senses, he turned toward Ollivel and the king.

The look on their faces made him instantly scowl. They both stood with smirks plastered on their faces, obviously enjoying Torrin's awe-struck inspection of the space. Before he could say anything, the king gathered wind mana around the them with the flick of his wrist, forming it into some sort of solid sound barrier--the trio was now standing in complete silence and the view outside was cut off.

"Rin, I must apologize on behalf of my wife's shenanigans... There are a few ways that we test for one's elemental affinity here and she thought it prudent to try finding yours out by having Ollivel attack you." The king explained, a sheepish expression on his face.

"So all of that before was what? Just a test? Some act that Ollivel put on for whatever reason?" Torrin asked in annoyance.

The king scratched at his head as he replied, "Well... Ollivel's feelings were quite real, which is why I did not want him to be the one to test you in this way..." He trailed off, his gaze sliding over to the other elf.

Torrin followed his gaze, landing on Ollivel who smiled broadly, "I do indeed hate your kind." He stated plainly.

"I don't know exactly what happened between the humans and elves, but that was a long time ago, wasn't it? I know it was bad and you may harbor ill feelings towards humans in general, but why would you hate me personally? I wasn't a part of anything that happened back then." Torrin asked, confusion written on his face.

Ollivel's face mirrored Torrin's confused expression. The king cleared his throat, bringing the confused pair's attention to him.

"Rin... Though Ollivel here is not particularly fond of humans for what they did in the past, he doesn't hate them. When he says "your kind", what he is referring to is Virtus. He hates Virtus and by extension... You." The king said awkwardly.

"Me? What do I have to do with his hate of Virtus?!" Torrin asked in an exasperated tone, his confusion increasing.

"You are one of their apprentices, are you not? The apprentice of the Silver Witch herself, no less." Ollivel wondered aloud. Torrin sighed heavily, his hand reaching up to massage his temples.

'Of course Grams is the cause of all of this... Does no one ever actually explain anything around here? Why does he think we're part of Virtus?' Torrin thought sullenly.

After a moment of gathering his thoughts he began, "I'm curious..." Torrin said, looking between the pair, "Did the queen actually explain to any of you why I'm being sent here?"

The elves looked at one another with a questioning look, before shaking their heads slightly and turning their attention back to Torrin.

"We were told that you were the witch's apprentice and that she has requested you be trained here. Our relationship with Virtus was soured by their actions before they left, but the witch helped us with many things during her time here, so we agreed to repay her with this favor..." The king trailed off, looking at Torrin expectantly.

Torrin sighed heavily once more, wanting to go back to the palace so he could kick both the queen and Grams in the ass for always trying to be mysterious. He took a moment to let his annoyance fade, before turning his gaze back to the king.

"King Fellen, I apologize for my master's actions long ago," he said, giving a shallow bow before continuing, "But I want to inform you that she is no longer a part of Virtus... They have changed over the years and she left their ranks... With quite a show, I've been told." Both Ollivel and the king wore shocked expressions hearing this.

"What do you mean, she left their ranks, Rin? What happened between them to make such a tight-knit group fall apart?" The king asked curiously.

Torrin shook his head, "It's a long story and I am unsure if it is mine to tell... But I can tell you that their leader Karth betrayed my master, and is planning something terrible--Has been doing something terrible, even. He has more or less declared war on the Kingdom of Lisson and that is why I am here. Though I do have my own personal reasons for hating Karth and Virtus, which I won't go into now, I am here to train so I can kill him and stop Virtus from destroying the entire continent."

Torrin held the king's gaze, determination blazing from the depths of his eyes. After a long moment of inspecting Torrin, the elves both nodded sharply. Ollivel was the first to break the silence, "Young Rin, I must apologize to you then, for taking out my anger on you. If what you say is true, I have made a mistake in blaming you for their actions. Please, accept my apology and allow us to start fresh." The rugged elf seemed to be repentant of his actions as he held his gaze lowered to the floor.

Hearing this, Torrin shook his head ruefully, saying, "It's not your fault, Ollivel," he paused for a moment, "Well, it's your fault for being quite rude, of course... But it's not your fault that you weren't informed of anything before my arrival, either of you," he said, looking between the two elves, "For whatever reason, my master and the queen both prefer to keep information to themselves..."

The elves nodded in understanding, the king saying, "Thank you for being so understanding, Rin. We have both made a mistake in not thinking of you as an individual, but as a part of Virtus... I apologize as well for my error, and hope you will not think too lowly of me."

The king also had his gaze down cast. Seeing the king lowering himself to apologize for his mistake, Torrin felt conflicted.

"No worries, King Fellen... My actions were also inappropriate in response to Ollivel's... ahem... test. I should not have been so rude to you and the queen." Torrin said, waving his hands before him, "How about we all start fresh, eh? I don't want to cause any more trouble... I just need to learn how to use the elements properly, so I can become stronger."

After agreeing to start with a clean slate, the king said, "One good thing did come from the public display earlier, though. It showed that you contain skill worthy of a warrior to all those who may doubt that a human deserves to be taught here." The words made Torrin slightly uncomfortable, unsure of the real implications behind the king's words, but he let his concerns go--excited to begin learning real magic.

The trio smiled to one another and the king dropped the sound barrier, the training hall coming into view once more. It was still silent once the barrier dropped and Torrin gazed around curiously, wondering what was going on to make the once loud room completely silent. Every eye in the room was staring at the three people standing in front of the doorway. Torrin soon realized they were not staring at the group, but at him specifically, causing him to flush slightly.

The king smiled magnanimously, gaze roving the crowd as he proclaimed, "I would like you all to welcome the human that I am sure you have all heard rumors about today. This is Rin Gram. Starting today he will be training here with all of us. Please, treat him as you would anyone else here... As a fellow student in the learning of mana arts."

'Rumors about me?' Torrin thought curiously, 'I only learned I would be here a few hours ago and my fight happened only moments before I walked in here, while these people were all still inside this building... How could they have heard rumors?'

A murmur broke out through the gathered elves, but instructors soon began shooing them back to training. Stares and covert glances were shot equally in Torrin's direction as the king led him and Ollivel weaving through the various training circles to a separate room from the large training hall.

In the center of the room was an orb on a pedestal, not unlike the one he'd found in the pocket realm that sent his soul into the sandy arena to be tested. The sight of the orb caused Torrin's hands to get slightly clammy. He gulped audibly as he looked to the king with a questioning gaze.

The king pointed to the orb, explaining, "This is what we call our testing stone. As I said earlier, we have various ways to test people's elemental affinity, and this is one such method."

The king approached the orb and Torrin followed. Ollivel went to a panel on the side of the wall that lit up at his touch. Seeing the panel, it reminded Torrin of Grams' spell she used to spy on people, but more of a permanent fixture.

Seeing his gaze, the king said, "That screen will allow us to monitor your testing. Below it are controls we can use to change what happens inside the test, to get a full understanding of your capabilities." Hearing this, Torrin nodded, shoulders still slightly tense at the thought of having to enter the orb.

"And what exactly is this test, King Fellen?" Torrin asked, hoping the answer would help ease his nerves.

"It is simple. The best way to figure out someone's affinity is to have them undergo a highly stressful situation. We've found that when faced with adversity, most people--if they've formed a connection with mana--will instinctively reach for an element to aid them. Of course there are simpler ways of finding one's elemental affinity, but with this method, we've found that it helps the person being tested form a deeper bond with their affinity." Torrin nodded along to the explanation, now understanding why the queen had allowed Ollivel to attack him.

"Okay, so what should I do?"

"All you need to do is approach the orb and sit with your back against the pillar. Reach your mind out to the orb and you'll enter it," Ollivel spoke up from the side of the room, "Once inside, we will test which element you are most proficient with, and start your training from there." Torrin watched as Ollivel tapped several different runes and the screen changed to show a flat plateau atop a mountain.

The king drew Torrin's attention as he waved to the orb and said, "Please, Rin. If you wouldn't mind."

Torrin hesitated for a long moment before asking, "King Fellen... I must ask... is this safe?"

Eyebrows scrunched together as the king considered what Torrin had asked. "What are you implying, Rin?" The king's expression turned from thoughtful to aggrieved as he asked, "That we might attack you while you're in the orb? Have we not just spoken about starting fresh?"

Torrin's eyes nearly popped from his head as he choked from shock, waving his hands before him, "No! Nothing like that!" he let out a nervous chuckle, "What I meant was...will my soul be safe while I'm inside the orb? Is the test dangerous? I... uh... I entered an orb that was eerily similar to this one inside a pocket dimension quite recently and once I was inside I was informed that if I died, my soul would be destroyed in the process..." Torrin trailed off, hoping he hadn't offended the king with his earlier words.

Both Ollivel and the king stared at Torrin blankly for a long while as silence descended on the room. Torrin looked between the two for a long while, hoping one of them would break the awkward silence.

The king continued staring at the boy as Ollivel cleared his throat, saying, "Ahem... No, young Rin, you will be in no danger while you are inside the orb. This whole setup was another one of Lars' gifts to our people while Virtus was here. It is completely safe. If you did somehow die inside the orb, you would regenerate..." the elf paused a moment before continuing, "The pain, however, will be felt completely. As if it were real. This is necessary for the testing, or else you wouldn't feel endangered enough to reach for an element. Does that make sense?"

Torrin nodded, "Thank you for explaining, Ollivel, that puts my mind at ease. I'm ready to try this out!" Torrin's excitement had returned. Though he didn't like getting hurt, pain was an old friend at this point and nothing to worry too much over.

Seeing the change in the boy, the king said, "Well, I will leave you two to it. We had prepared a small celebration to be held to welcome you, set for tonight." Torrin's eyes widened at the words.

The king's smiling face turned sheepish and he scratched the side of his head as he continued, "I must admit that it was nothing grand, due to our mistaken belief that you were from Virtus..." Torrin almost laughed at the words, "But! I shall have this remedied immediately, as I've grown fond of you during our short time conversing. Now, I must be off. You can trust Ollivel to guide you through your testing."

After the king left the room, Torrin sat with his back against the plinth. Closing his eyes, he followed Ollivel's instructions to enter the testing stone.