“Here is how this is going to work,” Adelaide told Carmine, pointing with a half-eaten sandwich, talking through bites.“We’re splitting up to find our next members.”

“Agreed,” Carmine answered. Finally she could have a moment to herself.

“Wait, wait,” Aaron tried to keep them both seated at the cafeteria table before they split their separate ways. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You’re going to be sharing your space with whoever you recruit for a long time. You should try to find people that you can both get along with.”

“Do we look like bosom companions to you?” Adelaide leaned over the table, tilting her head towards the elder student with a doubtful sneer. "Our skill level is the only thing that matches between us. We'd be better off finding partners we can get along with, even if it is only half the circle."

"I think that would be better," Carmine added with a whisper. "Cooperating for the circle is one thing, but I think I'd like to find someone friendly."

"You can look for whoever you want," Adelaide shifted her focus to Carmine. "But keep in mind if you choose anyone lax or incompetent then we’ll all be dragged down. I won't have it."

"You worry about your choices," Carmine grumbled back. "Whoever I find will pull their own weight.”

"They'd better." Adelaide's head snapped towards Aaron. "You. I need to locate a specific student, can you help me do that?"

"Uh, yeah, I can, but," Aaron stuttered, caught between his two charges. He turned to Carmine. "That would mean you're on your own. Will you be alright for a little while?"

She looked down at her fidgeting hands. She came here to meet people like Nicholos wanted, but it still terrified her. Even so, she mustered her courage. "I can handle it." Her shaky answer didn’t convince herself, but she needed to do this.

"Alright." Aaron took her word, but she saw doubt in his face-wrinkling frown. "If you need to, just head back to the dorm and I'll find you later, okay?"

"Alright…but I can handle it." She repeated.

"See?" Adelaide shrugged to Aaron. "She'll be fine." She gobbled up the last of her sandwich and slid off her chair still chewing. "Let's go then."

With a heavy sigh, Aaron lifted himself from the chair. "Good luck, Carmine. I look forward to meeting whoever you find-"

"Hurry now," Adelaide beckoned from halfway across the room.

"I really look forward to it." He gave Carmine a knowing nod as they shared a sigh, but within moments he was gone, Adelaide too. Once again she was alone with nothing but the amalgous crowd and its discordant chittering in every corner of the gentrified eatery.

Everywhere she looked over the white-tiled room she saw other students, her age and older, gathering together and holding conversations.

How did they do it? She knew nothing about any of them, and they knew nothing about her. She couldn't just start talking to anyone out of nowhere, they'd think she was weird, or that she wanted something.

The last time she spent any prolonged time with someone her own age was back in Rieland with her cousin so very long ago. She never grew close to any of the other kids in Rolderston. They all thought she was either cursed or witch…turned out they were right about that last part. Unfortunately, casting spells made poor preparation for making small talk, but maybe it would come naturally. Carmine had read people were social creatures, perhaps that nature would kick in…any moment now.

Yeah, right. Wishful thinking for the desperate.

All the faces in the mess hall blended together, dozens of conversations rang in her ears without something to anchor her attention. She randomly picked a table of new students and decided to walk over.

Her legs decided to remain still. An ambivalent urge built up in her chest on the one hand wanting to take that first step, while on the other she feared the likely rejection and shame that would inevitably follow.

They're new students too, they would be expecting to be approached…but they already had a full group…maybe they're still searching? Not for anyone that would break into their conversation.

Carmine leaned her head in her hands. This is hopeless.

Seconds dragged on and Carmine realized the group she'd been staring at as she ruminated started staring back.

Shit.

She turned without a word and fled the hall, pulling her hood further down over her face.

Way to go, Carmine, now they know you’re weird.

Maybe she should just go back to her dorm. Aaron could probably help her but…the thought of Adelaide looking down on her again boiled her blood. Frustration grumbled in Carmine’s throat as she stomped aimlessly back and forth, unable to decide on whether to give up or persist.

Maybe she should make a sign? She could write far more eloquently than she could speak. At least she’d get her words out, but…no. Carmine’s face went red just thinking of standing in the middle of everyone looking that desperate.

Then do what!?

She had no plan and only bad ideas. Perhaps going to the entry square would have better results. Maybe someone might approach her looking for a circle. It would be easier being awkward in the passive role.

A wry, pathetic laugh crawled out of her throat. At least it couldn’t be any worse than leering at people from a distance…no, it could be. It certainly would be.

Carmine approached one of the outer walls. Just as Aaron said, a lift revealed itself to her approach. At least no one else was inside. While the lift crawled down, Carmine used the moment of solitude to focus. If she could just quell the anxiety for just a moment all she needed to say was: Greetings, my name is Carmine. Are you looking for a circle?

“Greetings," she practiced, "no, too formal. Hi? No, too…friendly. I don’t know them yet. Hello, my name is Carmine…basic, but it will have to work.” She repeated the sentence aloud to herself a few times, trying to work out the stutters and tone, but the lift reached its destination all too soon. Maybe she could ride it up and down one more time, work the best words to say?

As she reached for the control panel to send the lift back up, the wall opened to the tower's central square and a crowd on the other side. Several students waited just outside the door and moved inside as Carmine slipped out to avoid them.

She watched her one hope at practice seal up and move on its way. Nothing to do now but try.

People moved in a single, writhing crowd; a swarm of nudging elbows and trampled feet. Carmine waded into them, her feet dragging through an invisible swamp that slowed her pace to one shaky step every few seconds. Surrounded on all sides, she knew she made a mistake. Lost in a sea of people, Carmine’s head swam adrift. All of her preparation melted into the cacophonous drivel invading her ears. Everywhere she looked new students made deals and trades, forming groups with rules and requirements enough to fill a contract.

Did she have to worry about that too? The only thing she’d ever signed her name to was the student admission Vale brought to her a year ago, now she had to worry about signing away the hours of the day?

She needed more time. To prepare, to think. It may all get jumbled again, but at least she learned new information for the next try. Carmine turned to retreat only to find a group of four students making their way past her. She moved aside to let them pass…only to watch them change course to meet her.

Wait.

They all had their eyes on her.

No.

There had to be a way out, Carmine spun on her heel, trying to slip though the crowd, but only ended up colliding with another student head first.

“Ow!” The green clad student, a faun girl with coppery skin and black curled horns, rubbed her forehead as a sneer split her face. “Who the hell-?”

“S-sorry,” Carmine squeaked as she tried to find a new escape route, but another girl with short black hair and a high-collared coat unknowingly blocked the way. When Carmine turned she found herself boxed in by the four students chasing her. She froze between someone she just upset and four others who wanted to talk.

“Hello there,” The lead of the four stepped forward, a rosy cheeked human boy wearing garments similar to Adelaide’s without any of the practicality. Each button minted in silver and not a thread stained with a day’s effort. Even Adelaide’s garments looked made for an expected amount of hardship. Compared to them, Carmine must have looked like something a stray dog spat out. “Pardon the interruption, but I hear you are one part of the team that completed the aptitude test first, correct?”

Why did that matter, she thought.

Before waiting for Carmine’s response he kept going. “I’d like to discuss an agreement for you to become part of our circle.” She regretted ever hoping someone would approach her, this was ten times worse than awkwardly staring.

Her composure cracked and crumbled to ash as she felt the burning eyes of the other students assessing her, judging her. “We can offer you wider connections and resources than you’ve ever seen. All we ask in exchange is that you assist us in reaching the level of sorcerer and that you share your techniques with us-”

“Wow, really?” Carmine heard another voice next to her before an arm landed on her shoulder and turned her thought blank. She shuddered to see the student she bumped into turn a mocking smirk on the four.

“I’m sorry, is this your business?” The rosy boy's face turned sour at the interruption.

“Well, no,” She shrugged without a hint of shame, “but fun thing about eavesdropping: I can stick my horns in whenever I hear a load of bullshit.”

“I beg your pardon!?”

“Not as much as you should be begging first-place here to join your basic-ass circle.” She tapped Carmine’s shoulder. “Feel free to call me out, but wasn’t your gang one of the teams that timed out and had to be summoned back by instructors?” All four students shuffled in place, biting lips and muttering curses. “So what was the plan here? Offering to buy your way into talent while you drag everyone else down around you?”

“Mind your own business, goat.” The boy’s veneer cracked.

“There we go,” Instead of being deterred, the fauns’ eyes sharpened on her target. “By all means, go on. Embarrass yourself more, if your weak skills haven't enough. I could use a good laugh.”

Carmine felt she stood in the middle of something dangerous. Her flight instinct kicked in several minutes ago, yet her feet ignored every order.

“I think that's quite enough of that,” Another human intervened, an older student from the look of it as he stepped between the group of four and Carmine. “I think you oughta find someone else for your group,” he told the four.

The lead of the group huffed and called his lackeys away. Carmine took a deep breath, feeling a little more at ease with them gone. She turned to the faun leaning on her shoulder.

“Th-thanks.” She muttered.

“You’re welcome,” The Faun said, stepping back. “You looked a little out of it.”

“I-” all of a sudden Carmine worried about making a bad impression. “I was.”

“Don’t worry about it. We all have things we’re good at and things we’re not. You, for example, sound like you’re one of the real up-and-coming sorceresses around here. Not so much on the public speaking side, though. Be careful that people don’t try to take advantage of that. My name’s Almyra by the way.” She motioned to the hazel-eyed girl in the collared coat behind her. “This is Kay.”

Kay raced to Almyra’s side with a smile in her eyes and a silent wave of her hand. Her coat blocked out the lower half of her face the same way Carmine’s scarf did for her. Kay looked to Almyra and began making strange symbols with her hands.

“She likes your scarf,” Almyra relayed.

“Oh. Thank you.” A smile widened beneath the scarf in question. “My name is Carmine. It's nice to meet y-you.” Practice finally paid off.

“Wait,” The older student grumbled. Something about his voice that grated Carmine's ears. As they both turned to each other, Carmine saw his blue robe was no robe at all, but a cape clasped to the back of shining silver hued armor. She frowned up to an unfortunately familiar face. He trimmed his dirty blonde hair clean, and his beard had grown less patchy, but Carmine recognized the shape of a nuisance when it stood before her.

“You.” They both said at once, each mirroring the other’s look of confusion.

“Should have known you’d be here kid.” Jordan broke the silence first, offering a begrudged smile. “I honestly didn’t expect this to be your kind of place. How, uh…how have you been?” He stood a little taller and his armor shined with improved care, but Carmine still crossed her arms at the whiny apprentice that once darkened her doorstep.

“You’re not a student.” She ignored his question. “What are you doing here?”

Jordan clicked his tongue and heaved out a long sigh. His eyes broke away as the forced smile faded from his face. “After our…trip, I realized I needed to broaden my experiences. I took a post here. The exorcists and sorcery institutions have an understanding; they look after things we find, and help teach exorcists ways to combat magic, in return we provide security and safe artifacts for study.”

“So you became a doorman?”

“It's a little more complex than that.”

“What’s with the attitude?” Almyra frowned at Carmine. “What did our guide do to you?”

“No.” Jordan bit his lip with a pained expression and let out another sigh. “No, she's got her reasons. I…I used to be a pretty ignorant assh- uh, an ignorant man.” Carmine raised her brow at the sudden admission. “I used to believe things about people-... fauns that weren’t true. I harassed a friend of hers. “ He met the gaze of the three students in front of him. “I was wrong…and an idiot. You were right about that, kid.” Carmine would scoff if Jordan’s behavior hadn’t so thoroughly confused her. “I have since pulled my head from the dirt and smartened up. I'm trying to be better and I'd be grateful if you would give me a chance to prove that.”

Carmine furrowed her brow even deeper. Was this even the same person? The Jordan she knew had the self-awareness of a buried rock.

"We've only known you for the afternoon," Almyra answered first, "but you've treated Kay and I decently enough. If you're trying to be better then sure, you got a shot."

Kay nodded her approval alongside Almyra.

"You’re serious?" Carmine asked. Experience wedged doubt between what Jordan said and his past actions, but…the Jordan she knew never apologized.

“I am,” He answered, his tone more earnest than she ever heard. She watched every line of his face, every twitch and quiver, knowing how his mug moved when it mocked and lied. She went quiet, uncaring of the awkward tension descending around her as a near minute passed.

“Fine,” Carmine answered. She didn’t find any deception, but she’d be watching. "I can give you one chance."

"That's all I ask." Jordan brightened, a relieved grin spreading over his face. "But look at you three, already helping each other out. I think you'd make a good circle- well, semi-circle at least."

The circle completely slipped Carmine's mind when Jordan showed up. All of a sudden standing and talking with Almyra and Kay became a source of heart-thundering stress again, but she did her best to quell it with a breath.

"W-Would you like t-to-" Carmine tried to force the words out, "to j-join our-"

"Sure." Almyra answered before she finished asking. Kay agreed with two thumbs up over her shoulder.

"Oh." Carmine's anxiety turned into happy embarrassment. It really wasn't that bad. "G-good!"

"Then it's settled," Jordan smirked at the trio as he pulled a small notebook from a nook in his armor. "Now, if I remember right, to form a circle pact, you all have to take your medallions," he pointed to the tower effigy around Kay's neck as he read, "and place them around your dorm's central lodestone.” Carmine saw he had no idea what he was talking about. “This will cause all the circle members to be joined." Jordan snapped the book shut. "Weird magic shit." He looked at Carmine. "You get that?"

She nodded and turned to her new partners. "Follow me," Carmine beckoned, leading them to the lift. Her pendant led them past all the wandering students back to the dorm. As she placed her effigy in the recess, she felt proud to be returning with her task complete, rather than giving into failure.

"This way," Carmine pushed the door open, welcoming her new circle members to her home, but she found Adelaide returned first, and with company.

"Ah, you're back," Adelaide said, leaning back in her chair at the lounge table, sipping tea alongside two others. One, a boy with a stoic face, stood taller than everyone else nearby, Jordan included. He held his arms crossed and Carmine saw old scars and calluses kneaded into hard olive skin. She'd seen the same on town guards and drunken brawlers she helped Vale treat in Rolderston. She could scarcely believe he was a student of magic.

That student stood watch over a second face that Carmine did recognize; the same blue-eyed boy that found her before the test. His grin spread just as wide as it had in the courtyard.

"Carmine! There you are," he beamed, bouncing up from the table. "This is great! I hoped we'd be in the same circle."

Carmine slowly waved her hand in greeting. At least he was friendly.

"You know each other?" Adelaide cocked a brow.

"We met before the test." He answered before looking back to Carmine. "I had a feeling you would do well."

"Th-thank you," Carmine stammered. How does he have that much energy? "What brings you here-? Wait, d-did you say 'same circle?'"

"That's right," Adelaide confirmed. "This is Emmett Leval, the son of the headmaster and headmistress."

"The- The headmaster's…son?" Carmine had the sinking feeling this circle would be anything but covert.

"That's right," Adelaide confirmed before nodding to the larger boy. "and this is Xander King, another protégé like myself and arcknight in training."

"What's an arcknight?" Almyra leaned over Carmine's shoulder and asked the question in Carmine’s mind.

Adelaide leaned back on her chair, glancing past Carmine. "My, my, you actually brought someone back with you."

"A knight that uses magic and blade," Xander answered Almyra. He sounded as far from Carmine's expectations as he could. His voice flowed light and friendly, almost at odds with his sternness. "And you are?"

Carmine Shuffled aside for Almyra and Kay to step inside.

"Hi there," Almyra spoke undaunted before the others. "I'm Almyra. This is Kay. Pleasure to meet you."

Kay waved at the group, making more of her hand gestures.

"Kay says-"

"You as well." Xander replied before Almyra could finish, making a few hand gestures of his own.

Kay's eyes lit up as her hands moved faster by the second. What they meant, Carmine decided she would have to learn, but Xander's rocky contingencies cracked with the suggestion of a smirk as he responded to Kay's communication.

"Huh," Almyra looked towards the pair. "Didn't expect someone else to know sign here."

"You'll have to teach me," Carmine added.

"We can all learn together," Emmett agreed. "Maybe you can teach us Elvish."

"Elvish?" Adelaide flinched with a frown. "Why would she know that?"

Don't say it.

"Because she's an elf." Once again, Emmett revealed things in front of everyone without any warning.

Adelaide leaned back forward on her chair. "What."

"Wait, really?" Almyra spun on her heel towards Carmine. In fact, everyone stared at her again.

"Please stop doing that." Carmine whispered.

"Oh," Emmett deflated, sitting back into his chair with an apologetic grin. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Carmine reached up to her hood, her eyes fixed at her feet as she lowered it to show her long, pointed ears reddened to the tip.

"Well how about that," Almyra dropped her arm around Carmine's shoulder again, more sudden contact she wasn't prepared for. "And here I thought I'd be the only cool one here." Almyra leaned in a little closer tilting her head. "Oh hey, is that a scar on your cheek?"

"Yeah." Carmine pulled her scarf up. "It's nothing."

"If you say so."

"How did I miss that?" Adelaide stared up at the ceiling. "Now they’ll think I was only first because of her."

"This is irrelevant," Xander frowned at Adelaide. "Our skills are our measure, not our bloodlines or family names."

"No," Adelaide shook her head as her expression returned to the resting smugness it usually was. "No, you're right. With our skills pooled together, no other circle can hope to match us." She looked back to Carmine. "And I apologize. Doubtless, you labored for your skills as well."

"Oh." The sudden apology caught Carmine off guard. "Uh…apology accepted."

"Great, we're all friends," Almyra trotted to the room's center, her finger curling on her chin before the lodestone. "So, how do we do this?"

"If you're ready for the circle binding," Aaron spoke up from the corner of the room. "Gather round."

All six students took position as the points of a hexagon surrounding the large arcane orb floating in the dorm's center. One by one they placed their pendants on the surrounding pedestal; Aspirant Adelaide Winters, Aspirant Carmine Felis, Apprentice Xander King, Aspirant Emmett Leval, Adept Almyra Matilda-Leonne, and Adept Kay Marlowe.

"As a sorcerer of Leval, I witness the pact of these six." Aaron recited as he placed his own pendant upon the pedestal. "By the rite and will of the ancients, I recognize them as fellow sorcerers. As their senior I will guide them true, and foster their skills to surpass my own."

An azure ring encircled the equator of the massive stone, expanding beyond its surface. It descended around the seven students, draining the room of all its light, save the ring's own glow.

Just as Carmine wondered what the ring meant, it collapsed in on itself, passing through her, and every student's, body.

"What just happened?" Adelaide asked, pressing her hands where the ring passed through.

"The tower has recognized you six as a circle." Aaron explained. "All your quarters can be connected to this room, and so long as you're connected like this, you'll always be able to find each other within the tower…if you want to be found anyway. Privacy is important."

Carmine looked down to her wrist feeling an arcane presence. With a little focus, a blue ring brightened on her skin. She felt a sense in her mind, like knowing the way home, only it pointed to each of her compatriots.

"I can sense it," She said, a giddy smile coming to her face.

"Me too," Almyra echoed, a ring on her hand as well. All members lifted their hands, showing the arcane brand.

“What about you?” Xander looked at Aaron. “The circle passed through you as well.”

“Each circle has a senior student attached to it.” Aaron answered as he showed a similar ring on his hand, though his appeared layered with another. “Think of me as a tutor, or someone who has just been where you are. My insights are here for you when you need them.” Aaron motioned to the ring on his hand. “These rings mark you as students of this great school. You’ll have them as long as you study here for as long as you want. Consider this your formal induction. Welcome, all of you. Your future only gets brighter from here.”

Carmine looked down at her own ring, cradling her hand as her heart warmed with pride. All her effort paid off, and she even made some friends already. It may have been a simple shape, just a mere illusion, but in that moment Carmine treasured nothing more.