The rest of that day was mostly relaxing, but the dawn of the next school day was anything but. The ritual or whatever it was that allowed us to start down our paths was scheduled for later in the day and to a man we were all nervous. None of us were really sure how it worked but we didn’t know if it was something you can fail. Were we being graded on this?

I reached into my pocket and dug out the crumpled shape of my schedule. Ali always lectured me about not neatly folding important papers but I figure if someone doesn’t like the way I handle my documents they can eat a dick. I quickly found the listing for the “incarnation ritual” and noted we had into classes for all our other courses after. Apparently they wanted us taking classes at night for the most part.

I glanced over at my friends “Do you guys have an intro seminar for every single course over the next few days? I know we’re supposed to pick based on our powers somehow but are we really going to try them all?” I was honestly skeptical this ceremony would make that big a difference. I couldn’t imagine my abilities being so out of the blue as to make me choose a totally different track for my education here. I’d put a ton of thought into this already, there was nothing that could happen during this little ritual that would change things that much.

From their expressions the others weren’t sure either, with the exception of Shawn who I could tell even after knowing him for just a short time was a giant nerd. Surprisingly Theo was the one who answered first “I figure it couldn’t hurt man, at the very least it’ll give us some understanding to base our choices off of.” His face split in a wolfish grin “Plus think of all the girls that’ll be in all those classes.” We all chuckled at that as we headed over towards the woods.

According to our documents the “incarnation ritual” was going to happen in the woods instead of one of the halls, we weren’t really sure why it would be out of the way of all the other students, but common sense told us to expect fireworks. Following the map on the back of the schedule was irritating to say the least, after a few minutes we left the civilized part of campus and trekked into the woods. Amusingly Theo was wearing sandals and kept complaining about his footwear, something which got him openly mocked by the girls, at least one of whom had worn heels and was having absolutely no trouble.

As we got deeper into the forest around the campus the trees got thicker and taller, and the bushes and grass became dense and overgrown, the darkness around us began to deepen as the canopy of trees became denser, and the air started to take on a dangerous, wild feeling. The deeper we went into the forest, the more I felt society and the trappings of the modern world fall away. The woods around us seemed to crackle with a primordial, untamed energy, and I wasn’t the only person feeling it.

Shawn was glancing nervously around us, and Abby seemed jumpy, other than the three of us, only Erin and Theo seemed to sense the changes , only showing a slight unease, though how much of that was just their personalities I couldn’t say. It occurred to me that aside from my twin and I, each of the affected people had some sort of connection to the earth. The fae were creatures of the land, and Abby’s irish pantheon were deeply entwined with nature and the earth. Theo’s divine ancestor had a lot to do with growing things and primal urges, so it seemed reasonable the connection was there too.

Shawn, being the giant nerd he was, spoke up first, hushing his voice without meaning to, following the same urges to go unnoticed the rest of us were feeling. The wild woods around us gave the feeling that something was hunting us “Ok, I can feel a sort of dark natural energy building the deeper we go. If I had to guess, we’re moving toward a faerie ring. Unlike the other planes, the planes of faerie can sort of overlap with the mortal world. It’s only in small areas but this certainly feels like one of the fae planes.”

A loud crack sounded behind us and we all spun…to see Magnus grinning sheepishly back from his perch atop a newly shattered branch. Sebastian reached over and smacked the back of the bigger guys head, gesturing for Shawn to continue over the sound of apologies from the lumbering Norse boy. “Faerie rings are often used for rituals by other pantheons. If you involve a fae in the ritual, they can power the magic involved as if they were standing on their home plane. I stops the participants from having to drain their internal reserves to fuel the spell.”

“ Not much good for one large working, but for a series of repetitive magics, like, say, a ritual that needs to be repeated on a hundred or so students, it would be the best way to go. In fact, its one of the only ways I can think of to manage whatever ritual theyre doing. The chances of peacefully bringing this many varying pantheons and supernaturals into any one plane without at least one of them having a grudge with the inhabitants are slim to none.”

I heard a sharp series of cracks behind us and for a second thought it was Magnus again before recognizing the sound of clapping, as Dean Kelloway stepped out from behind a tree. “Well reasoned my boy, I have to say your insight into magical theory really lives up to the hype. No wonder we let you in with such a low concentration of supernatural blood.” The strangest part of this little speech was that aside from speaking to him, the Dean was completely ignoring Shawn. His eyes seemed glued to Sarah as he talked, something she thankfully didn’t notice, but Erin definitely did, as my sister stepped closer to our friend.

The Dean seemed to shake himself out of whatever reverie seeing Sarah had caused, as he gave Shawn a respectful nod and gestured off to the side. “In any case you’ll have a better understanding of all of this after the ritual. Though you’re off on the number of students, we only have sixty four in the program this year.” He led us into a small clearing with a circle of rough rectangular stones laying on their sides and full of people. “Now, prepare yourselves. Your whole world is about to change.”