Apprentices are only allowed to carry their own weapon if they have a sponsor of Master level, though it is usually frowned upon to carry any bladed weapon bigger than a knife. However, most apprentices either don’t have their own weapon, don’t see the need to carry it around, or don’t feel like trying to acquire a sponsor.

As Chad got up, he looked out the window at the still dark sky. With only three weeks left until the winter solstice, the days were getting cold and short, but even if it were summer, the sun would still not have risen this early. He got out of bed and started to get dressed, not worrying too much about waking Quartz on the other side of the room; he was a heavy sleeper. There were two other beds in the room, but they had been empty since Chad got here. Apparently people really didn't want to room with Quartz.

He left the dormitory and jogged to the small field where he met regularly with Wesley Farborn for early morning sparring. There was a layer of frost on the ground and an occasional snow flake was falling here and there. As he walked, he was grateful for the winter clothes he had gotten from the Academy. He had received two sets of thick wool pants, shirts, and socks and a pair of gloves, a pair of boots, and a hooded cloak. He wasn't wearing the boots as he preferred the ones he had brought with him from Fresh Springs. He was also wearing ear muffs that Hillary had crocheted for him. She had made them specifically to be worn with his cap that had the upside down triangle on it. She had said that the cap was an identifying mark and she didn't want him to stop wearing it just because he needed something warmer on his head. He wasn't sure how he felt about this, but he had grown fond of the odd hat, so he wore Hillary's ear muffs to humor her. Because he was an apprentice, everything he was wearing was black except for his white belt and brown boots.

When he arrived at the field, Wesley was already there, holding two staffs. Chad had asked Wesley in the past how he was allowed to carry a staff around as an apprentice. Turns out that, not too surprisingly, Jet and Quartz had failed to mention everything about apprentice weaponry when they had talked.

They practiced until Chad had to go to the kitchens to prepare for breakfast. They started with form repetition and technique improvement and ended with a couple rounds of dueling. Chad had made a lot of progress since he first came until he met Wesley. However, his progress after training with Wesley was even more impressive. He had yet to beat Wesley in a duel, but he could now hold his ground with or beat most of the other apprentices.

When they were done, they walked to the dining commons together where Salise Mae was waiting for Wesley. Chad had come to expect this of her. The only time that she wasn't with Wesley was during their morning practice. Despite the fact that they had known each other for several weeks, Chad had still not heard her speak to anyone besides Wesley.

As Chad headed into the kitchens, Wesley and Salise went to a table to wait until some breakfast was ready. As usual, Chad was one of the first people to arrive for breakfast preparation. This morning, Master Baldy was in charge of the breakfast effort. She usually oversaw the morning work while Master Sanders came later in the day, though this could change frequently. Over the course of the quarter, Chad had been acknowledged as an excellent preparer of produce. When he saw what he had to work with this morning, he decided to make a cabbage based salad.

By the time Sheldon, Amelia, and Daisy arrived, Chad was in full swing and had already made a big bowl of salad. Daisy started to help Chad while Sheldon and Amelia went to help elsewhere in the kitchen. This had become their daily routine and Chad had formed a sort of big brother relationship with Daisy, though only in the kitchen. His relationship with Amelia and Sheldon was still a little strained. Despite this, during their breaks Amelia and/or Sheldon would come and talk to Daisy, which let Chad hear all of the Academy rumors from a perspective different from Hillary's.

Chad's shift ended once the breakfast rush was over. He left the kitchens and headed to his first class, Introduction to Healing, which was taught by Selena. The goal of the class was to learn a basic general healing spell that would work on most animals but was extremely inefficient and draining for the mage casting it. The rest of the morning was taken up with more classes.

Chad met up with Jet and Quartz for lunch. Selena hadn't been joining them very much recently because she had to supervise some of the higher level apprentice classes as the regular teachers were away on end -of-quarter expeditions. Chad did not envy anyone having to travel around the country in this weather. Lunch with Jet and Quartz was as hectic as ever. Chad had become used to their constant pestering of each other (and sometimes him) and had even come to enjoy the sense of family that it brought along with it. Despite the apparent hostility, it had become very clear to him that they really loved each other and valued their relationship.

During lunch, Courtney Forester and Cal Ferdinandson “just happened to stop by” according to Courtney. However, Chad saw Tiffany Cardinal across the commons. Since the day that he had met Tiffany and Courtney, there had been a fair amount of Courtney and/or Cal “just stopping by” and it always coincided with Tiffany being around. He wasn't really sure what the situation was between Courtney and Tiffany, but apparently Courtney didn't wait for Chad to take her up on her offer “to help deal with” Tiffany. Chad didn't really mind, seeing as Courtney and Cal seemed to be pretty cool people and, from his brief encounter with Tiffany, she was not.

After lunch, Chad went to the library. When Chad had started at the Academy, he had spent so much time at the Library that it hadn't taken him much time to make friends with the librarians. For the last couple of weeks, Chad had been very glad for those friendships. Susan Frost had become a bit of a stalker since the day that they had met. She was always confronting him and trying to get him to “reform his ways.” This included her learning his routine and stopping him, among other places, in front of the library after lunch. After the third time that this happened, one of the abecedarian librarians, self-titled “Handsome Dan,” noticed and showed Chad a back way into the library which required a shifting spell to reach the second floor. Chad had since been using that entrance to avoid Susan Frost. Luckily, she hadn't discovered it yet.

Chad stayed late at the library studying. By the time he made it to the dining commons, all of his friends had already come and gone. On his way back to the dorm, he looked back at his day and his life since coming to the Academy. Sure, there were a lot of crazy things that had happened, but he was glad he had come. He enjoyed the learning, the friendships, the overall variety of the place. He also had come to appreciate the peace. No matter how hectic things were at the Academy, peace could always be found somewhere on the grounds.