That morning Shae awoke early. She was eager to start what could be the most important day so far here in this new world. As she moved about getting dressed, Mel moaned waking up.

“I’m sorry I woke you, Mel.”

Mel let out a big yawn. “That’s ok hun.” Mel stretched and another yawn escaped her causing Shae to follow suit. “You do have a busy morning ahead. And I suppose that includes me. I talked with Nick last night while you were in the bath. I will take you to enroll at the college. Nick, while more familiar with the process did not leave on great terms. So, he thought it best if you kept a bit of a distance from his reputation.”

“I bet there is a story there” Shae grinned.

“Not so much. Nick burned his bridges with the mage’s guild because of his condition. He blamed them in part for it. So, he left, cursing them. Needless to say, the guild did not take it well, and pulled his status. Which is why he is strictly an adventurer.”

“Wow, I’m sorry to hear that. I am glad he is recovering though. I couldn’t imagine living your life in pain every day. The mental stress alone could drive you crazy.”

“Well, now that he is getting better, he has a whole new level of mistrust for his old teachers.” Noticing Shae frown Mel smiled at her. “Don’t you worry. The college here is not the same. His old school pushed him into being a strict fire mage. Which had a hand in causing his issue. They would not do that to you. Especially since you don’t seem to lean toward any one element according to Nick. You should be open to use all elements the same, so he explained to me.”

“Alright. I was starting to wonder if this was going to be a good idea.” Shae said with some relief.

“He did say he would come if it would make you feel better. We can ask him at breakfast.”

“No. At some point I need to become like everyone else and stand on my own two feet, without someone propping me up. I will make it work somehow. What’s the worst that happens, I join the adventurer’s guild and Nick becomes my teacher.”

“Well, your right about one thing, Nick being your teacher would be the worst.” Mel laughed making Shae smile.

“Ok, lets get washed up and go get something to eat. You have a big day ahead. Not to mention a certain shop Kip is treating us to.” She added with a wink.

Shae nodded. “I can’t wait to be honest. I can’t imagine what it will all be like.”

“Well, the magistrate and college will be mostly boring and paperwork. But the sweet shop will be yum!”

Shae laughed a bit. Then the two headed off to the woman’s bath to wash up a bit. The inn supplied towels and soaps which was one less thing for Shae to have to purchase. At least for now.

Half an hour later saw the two women eating a breakfast of porridge with milk and a small cinnamon roll. They had tea with their breakfast which Shae found a nice change from all the broth she drank back at the village. It was the only hot drink available there. Shae had thought about gathering something to make tea from, like pinecones but making tea with an unknown ingredient was not smart. New world new plants. Shae would have to relearn what was safe to forage all over again.

Shortly after they had started their meal, the three men joined them, starting in on their own meals.

By the time they group had had breakfast and chatted a while. Shae being told a couple of tales of the group’s adventures. Which all sounded fascinating, and all together a bit dangerous.

She heard about Kip’s adventure of riding the troll. Which made the table laugh again when Nick exaggerated everything with large gestures. He did have a way of telling stories. It was like he added magic to the tale, making it seem larger than life and bringing a lot more emotion. In this case amusement.

Then Mel and Shae said their goodbyes and Mel reminded her brother about his promise. Which caused him to roll his eyes and remind her that she had been mentioning it every few hours or so.

It took the two women about forty minutes to walk to the magistrate’s office and another twenty to get Shae her new identification badge.

It was altogether a quick ordeal with the imprinting. She was required to place her hand on a grey metal plate much like the ones at the towns gate. This one was a bit thicker and larger, so even a very large man’s hand could fit on it. As she held her hand there, she felt a pull against her power flow. It drew a small amount into the plate. Once that was done, the attendant lifted the plate and removed what had been an unattuned badge underneath it. The small thin grey badge, or as Shae mentally referred to as her credit card, as it was very similar in size and shape. When she held the card, she felt as if it was a part of her now. When she concentrated on the card as she was shown it displayed her name, her job title which at the moment was blank, and how many marks she had, which was also blank. The bottom half of the card was left blank for small symbols. These were marks of commendations or marks of honor. If you did something of special worth you could receive one of these symbols which again could allow you certain privileges. For instance, there was hexagon with gold crossed swords. That symbol denoted you did a heroic deed during war times and would allow you tax free passage throughout the Monarchy. On top of any awarded gifts. These symbols were very detailed considering they were only a centimeter big. There was a magic to it that imprinted the information held on your badge onto your mind rather than seeing it directly. Yet your brain was tricked into thinking you were seeing it.

Shae wondered if Canson had one on his Badge.

The badge was super awesome to Shae. She couldn’t get enough playing with it, to Mel’s amusement.

Then the two stopped at a street vendor to get a snack before going to the college. Mel wanted to go over some things with Shae about what Nick told Mel what she could expect. Shae would need to be aura tested first, then given a few mental tests. Which Mel was not sure which tests they performed here? Nick had mentioned he had to do puzzle solving, memory games matching card pairs which you could only turn over two at a time out of thirty cards, and a test that sounded like he had to play a match the flashing patterns game on a nine-by-nine grid. They would light up six random squares, and if you got the pattern right, they would then light up seven random squares and so forth until you made a mistake.

Shae was hoping for the puzzles. She prided herself on being adept at solving them. Riddles were harder for her. But she still enjoyed them as well.

So, after they stopped for their snack and chatted about what Shae might be required to do, they set off toward the college of magic. It was only a ten-minute walk from the magistrate’s office.

Shae’s palms were a bit sweaty from nervousness, and excitement rolled into one big butterfly in her stomach. In the moment it felt like this was moving so fast. But the reality was she would spend at least two years studying here before she would be capable in the college’s mind. At which time she would be considered a full mage and in charge of her own destiny and further development. Unless of course she was chosen by a sponsor, who would then put added resources into her continued growth.

With her mind a whirl she and Mel came into sight of the college. This was where she felt it would all truly begin for her.

‘This is going to be aaaamazing!’ she mentally shouted in glee as they entered the very large red bricked u-shaped building.