Jack found himself in some sort of medieval tavern. People sat along the long rows of tables eating. He wasn’t among them though. In a small open area at one end of the building he stood across from another person. The girl across from him took a wide stance and unsheathed two curved swords from her belt. He looked down at his own hands. In his right hand he had a crossbow, that was it.

When Jack looked back up he found the girl rearing to launch herself forward. She brought one sword downwards to his head, he dodged. She attempted to counter with a thrust, again, he dodged it. Unsure of what to do, he kept moving to keep from getting hit.

The spectators in the tavern didn’t so much as bat an eye. They completely ignored the fight going on a few meters away.

Jack continued to evade, he backed up as she persisted in her attacks. It was all good for Jack until he stumbled as the back of his foot hit an uneven floor board. Seeing her chance, the girl put all her weight into a thrust using both swords. It all seemed like slow motion as he raised up his crossbow mid fall and pulled the trigger. The bolt hit her in the chest with a wet thunk. She tumbled forward, the momentum from the thrust carrying her. She landed face first, the impact pushed the bolt further into the wound. He had won.

“Oh… Oh no.”

Jack dropped his weapon and knelt beside the girl. He rolled her over and brought her onto his lap careful not to disturb the bolt lodged in her chest. Blood seeped from the wound. With tears in her eyes, she shakily reached up and grabbed his shirt. Suddenly, she went limp and breathed her last. The guilt hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Oh god. What have I done? Why have I done?”

He didn’t even know why this had happened. Jack looked around the room, everyone still ignoring him, except one. Their eyes locked. The man got up from his seat and strolled over to where Jack knelt, still holding the girl’s body.

“Y-You got to help me! This girl… she attacked… now she's dead.”

He gave a gentle smile.

“This is your dream my friend. Only you can help her.”

Those words spun through Jack’s mind. He was right, this was a dream.

“Now it’s a lucid dream dude, its gonna end because of that!”

Jack looked down at the girl.

“I want some sort of closure to this! Please!”

The man turned around and began to walk into the void that had now overtaken the room.

“No.”

Jack’s eyes opened, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Jesus H. Christ...” he grumbled.

Sunlight poked through the simple blinds on the window illuminating the room. He figured it was around seven in the morning considering this was when his internal clock normally woke him up. Dragging his bag over to him, he opened it up and pulled out his solar charger.

On the side opposite of the solar panel was a small screen that displayed date and time as well as the state of the batteries. He had always thought it was a bit silly to put a screen on a solar charger and display the time of all things. Nevertheless, the time read 5:45 pm. He scoffed, remembering that he had never actually set it correctly, or at all. With a few button clicks, he set it to 7:00 am, a reasonable estimate by his standards. He slipped the charger into his pocket and stumbled to his feet.

“Too much walking yesterday.”

He rubbed his lower back as he stiffly walked over to the window. Grabbing either side of the blinds he swept them open. Light poured into the room.

“What are you doing?”

Celsia had sat up. Clearly she was a light sleeper.

“It’s morning, no use in hidin’ from it. Anyway, you’re a student, right? Don’t you have classes or something?”

She blinked.

“No, you dull-headed… Class does not start until later.”

“How much later?”

“Not until…”

She looked at a small item on her dresser. Perhaps it was a clock?

“An hour and a half from now.”

She plopped back down onto her pillow and pulled the covers over her head.

“Close the blinds and let me sleep.”

Jack did as she requested.

“If I have an hour I’m going for a stroll.”

“Mhmm…”

Her hand reached out from under the covers and scoured the nightstand. She grabbed something and held it out. It was a key to the room

“This is my only spare, don’t lose it, expect punishment if you do.”

He took it and headed out the door.

* * *

It surprised him a fair bit that she let him go out on his own, let alone leave the dorm to do it. He chalked it up to her being tired and wanting him gone. Now was a good time to familiarize himself with this campus. He began to follow the first path in sight. Soon he found himself at what appeared to be the campus’s center.

Many paths converged into a circular plaza of sorts with an ornate fountain in the middle. It was empty, probably because it was early. Jack walked around its perimeter examining the buildings surrounding it. In one way or another each had identifying text on it’s front, either as a hanging sign or otherwise. They didn’t mean anything to him though.

“Would it kill for a picture or somethin’?” he said under his breath.

He peered in their windows, but nothing stuck out to him, no one was in any of them anyway. He came up to the last building in the circle. Its hanging sign resembled a book. He looked through the window, it was a library or the like by the looks of it. Many rows of bookshelves filled its interior. He tried the door, it was open. The morning sun lit up its interior through many skylights.

“Maybe they have picture books.”

He picked an aisle at random and took a book off the shelf. The book was certainly old, its cover appeared to be leather and the paper’s edges were rough. The other books looked to be the same. He flicked through the pages looking for anything besides text. When he found none, he briefly inspected the structure of the writing. It was a mish-mash of symbols, he rubbed his chin putting the book back where he found it.

“Might you be looking for something?”

Down the aisle was an older man leaning around the corner.

“Ah... no, just looking around.”

The man squinted through his glasses.

“You do not look familiar, are you a new student?”

Jack scratched the back of his head.

“Y-Yes but actually no, I’m Celsia’s companion...”

“Ah yes, I have heard about you, young man.”

“Really? It just happened yesterday.”

“I was one of the first to hear of it. As scribe, it is my duty to write down day to day happenings.”

He gestured for him to follow.

“Come, come. Since you are here I want to ask a few questions.”

The old man went back around the corner, Jack followed. He found the man sitting down at a desk, he gestured for him to sit in a chair across from him.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Kolbert of family Arnes, the academy’s history instructor and scribe. The students call me Instructor Kolbert but seeing as you are not a student, you may call me what you like. I never cared for formalities.”

Jack straightened himself in his seat.

Well… uhh… Kolbert, I’m Jack.

He held out his hand. Kolbert looked down at it and looked back up with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, sorry. That's something we do back at home when we meet someone for the first time. It's called a handshake.”

“Ahhhh I see, would you mind showing me this ‘hand-shake’?”

He held out his hand

“Grab my hand with yours.”

Kolbert leaned forward and gingerly grabbed his hand.

“O-Other hand.”

He switched to his right hand. They shook hands. A smile spread across his wrinkled face.

“I see, the name was rather self-explanatory.”

Jack laughed.

“Indeed it is.”

He examined his face, he had to be at least seventy. He looked a bit like depictions of Socrates, but with a longer beard.

“Jack, where is your home? You speak with an unfamiliar accent and look to have traditions I have not seen the likes of.”

“Far, far away from here.”

“Does it have a name?”

“United States of America, USA for short.”

He scratched his beard.

“I have not heard of such a place. Perhaps you are from the lands which we have not mapped?”

“No.”

“No?”

Jack sighed.

“I don’t think I’m even from this world. I came here through some sort of... hole?. I stepped through, then here I was.”

Kolbert crossed his arms.

“That is… interesting.”

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Mmmmm...”

He got up from his chair and walked to a bookcase to his left. He sifted through it eventually locating a book.

“It sounds like a tall tale from long ago. The hole part, that is.”

He pointed to the book.

“What is this ‘tall tale’ about?”

“The only part I care for is about the appearance of legendary creatures.”

“Do I look legendary to you?”

Kolbert sat back down.

“You do not, but these creatures appeared out of thin air in this tale. To quote the text: ‘...the beast crawled out of a hole in the very air itself. The brief glimpse of the hole he had revealed a land unfamiliar to his eyes.’ If what you say is true, than perhaps you met a similar fate to those creatures and now find yourself here.”

Something rang loudly outside, it was a bell. Jack pulled out his clock, it was 8:00. It was Convenient that his own time scale lined up nicely with theirs. So far anyway.

“I still think it is more likely you are from somewhere we have not explored… The idea of instance travel has appeared so many times, in so many works, that many believe there is too much of a coincidence for it not to exist.”

“Who knows Kolbert, every hour here makes me question reality and my sanity. Anyways, I have to be somewhere.”

“Perhaps we may meet again in the future? There is still much to discuss.”

“Yeah, of course.”

He left for the door. Kolbert leaned back in his chair and scratched his beard.

* * *

Jack made his way back to the dorm unsure if he’d make it in time. Who knows what kind of punishment she’d dish out of he was late. Unlocking the door, he went in. Celsia was up and dressed. She was shoving things in her bag.

“You are back, I am surprised.”

Jack shrugged.

“I don’t have anywhere to run.”

“You could not run for long in any case. The contract can let me know where you are.”

“How does that work?”

“If I concentrate hard, it tells me.”

He was skeptical, but that might better explain why she let him out for a walk. She closed her bag and slung it on one shoulder.

“You came back at the right time, classes start soon.”

“A-Am I coming?”

“Yes, companions accompany their masters to classes.”

“Great.”

He didn’t like this very much, more exposure to other students. If the past interactions were any indication, this wouldn’t be fun. It wasn’t as if he had much of a choice in the matter though.

“Let us go, or we will be late.”

Celsia picked up her sword and hooked it to her belt.

“Woah woah woah. You’re bringing that to class?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“You’re allowed?”

She headed out the door, Jack followed.

“You saw me take it to dinner with it last night. Did you not?”

“I did but it hadn’t occurred to me. Do you really need to arm yourself?”

“They let us,” she said plainly.

He put on a concerned expression.

“Yikes…”

They soon found themselves outside the dorms once again. He followed Celsia as she led him to class.

“What classes do you take?”

She scratched her head.

“There are four of the arcane temperaments: earth, air, water, and fire. There is also history and imbuement.”

Jack rubbed his chin.

“What does ‘earth’ mean?”

“It is another word for ground.”

“Anything else?”

“No?”

“Hmm…”

“Is this a revelation to you?”

“Nope.”

She shook her head as they continued walking.

“Anyway, you sure have a lot of classes.”

“Yes…” she groaned.

He knew that feeling far too well.

“Do they all happen every day?”

“No.”

“Ain’t that a good thing?”

“What?”

Jack straightened himself.

“Sorry, let me translate that: That is a good thing, is it not?” He said in a monotone voice.

Celsia whipped around, glaring at him.

“Are you mocking us?”

He shrugged.

“Ain’t mocking if it's true.”

She tried to smack him but even he saw it coming miles away.

“Nuh-uh! Is that any way to treat a pet?” he wagged his finger.

His face caught her hand mid taunt. A few other students watched as they bickered.

“Ow!”

“It seems I need to teach you some manners!”

He rubbed his face.

“No, you need to go to class.”

She raised her hand and Jack flinched.

“We will continue this later.”

Jack kept his distance as they went on their way.

* * *

One path that diverged from the central plaza lead to a building much larger than the rest. Once inside they made their way up a grand staircase to the second of many floors and went right. Jack gawked at the architecture, it was a sight to behold. The crown moldings were intricately carved and laden with sparkling metal inserts. Its walls were adorned with a variety of banners.

“Wonder which alumni paid for this?” said Jack, looking around.

Celsia ignored him. He followed her to a set of doors at one end of the landing and went in. Inside were many large desks set up in a semi-circle around a much larger central desk. It reminded him of lecture halls back home.

Most of the seats had already been taken. She took a seat in the back row. Incidentally, there was only one chair. She had begun to say something but Jack cut her off.

“I know, I know.”

He flopped down on the ground and leaned against the desk. From where he sat he looked around. It seemed that the other students had brought their companions as well. Though not everyone seemed to have one. Perhaps not everyone had their turn. He spotted one that looked like what Celsia had been chasing when they met.

So that's a skula huh?

He considered drawing it, but he couldn’t do animals, or anything with any level of nuance. He wasn't that good of an artist. This one was also about the same size of a small dog. Its body was roughly cylindrical, even its head, which housed two massive eyes and a large mouth on an impressively flat face. On its rear was a stubby tail. The fur that covered its body was short and was either brown or dark green. Jack giggled.

“Cylinder dog,” he said to himself.

Celsia looked down at him as he giggled to himself and rolled her eyes. A handful of the other students had been shooting glances at the two of them. His behavior wasn’t helping. It wasn’t long before everyone's attention shifted to the front of the room when the Instructor came in and took a seat. He addressed the class:

“Welcome everyone. It looks like the Rite went well for those of you who have had their chance,” he said as he scanned the classroom.

His eyes stopped on Celsia.

“Even for you Miss Seliota, you should be proud.”

The class murmured.

“Not quite, Instructor Helfo,” said someone from across the room.

“Not quite?”

Jack decided to stand up.

“Yeah, she managed to contract me. Doesn’t seem like anyone can explain why.”

Celsia grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down. Another student piped up.

“I can explain why. It was Celsia who did it!”

Some laughed at that.

“Quiet!” snapped the Instructor.

He shifted his attention back to her.

“I had thought what the others told me was a joke, but it seems not.”

Jack’s arm poked up from behind the desk.

“Ain’t no joke Instructor. If you don’t believe it, come and see my neck.”

He pointed down at himself. Celsia rubbed her temples.

“He speaks the truth, Instructor.”

“Oh my…” he rubbed his bald head. “Err… In any case, let us pick up from last class.

The students pulled out their books and class officially began. Jack also pulled out his notebook, ready to write down anything worth noting.

“We will continue our discussion of Goylems.”

Goylems? Do they mean golems?

Instructor Helfo continued.

“Most times they can be seen when created by someone, but very rarely they are found naturally...”

As he spoke, he gestured to the wall behind him with a stick, his catalyst. Text blinked into existence on the wall. Jack choked on his spit when he saw this and furiously scribbled something down.

“...In areas of high ceinic energy goylems can form from any items present, be it dirt, stone, or crystal. There are few known places where this has been recorded, but I am sure there are many that have gone undiscovered.”

Jack looked around, the others sat plainly taking notes. He on the other hand, was beyond excited. He finished off his first page on these “goylems.”

Goylems:

= Golems (Probably?)

Creature allegedly made from inanimate matter. Possibly made up of dirt, stone, or crystal. I don’t know if these are examples or the only possibilities. They are formed in two ways, either by a person via arcane, or naturally in areas of high “ceinic energy” (need to figure out what that is). I wonder just how alive these things are? Do they meet the requirements to be considered a living organism, or are they a kind of robot that is brought into existence and powered by the arcane? If the latter is the case, why do they exist naturally? I presume when people create them, they serve a purpose then are decommissioned. That makes sense, but what reasons do natural ones exist?

The class continued. Instructor Helfo rambled on describing some of the location goylems could be found. Apparently, there was one location nearby, in The Colored Wood no less.

“Tomorrow we will travel to this location to see it in person. I have made reservations and the other instructors agreed.”

The class chattered happily. Even Celsia seemed happy for once.

“We will meet here next class, then embark. Come prepared, it will be a day long trip. Class dismissed.”

As soon as it began, class ended. Everyone began to pack their things and trickle out the door. Jack walked down to where the instructor sat.

“What do you think you are doing, pet?” Celsia asked, hands on her hips.

“I want to introduce myself.”

He pointed towards the front desk. She scoffed.

“What would--”

“I would be happy to meet your companion, Miss Seliota.”

Instructor Helfo had stood up from his desk and approached Jack.

“Good meeting you, young man. Do you have a name? Besides pet.”

He looked over his shoulder back at Celsia who pouted with her arms crossed.

“My name’s Jack Gram, but you can just call me Jack.”

He almost went for a handshake but stopped himself.

“Well, Jack, my name is Bernard of family Helfo. Head of the earth arcane branch here at Ester Academy.”

“Nice to meet you, Instructor. I would love to stay and talk, but we must be going and I’m sure you have places to be too. I just wanted to introduce myself.”

Jack glanced at Celsia who was impatiently tapping her foot.

“Not to worry. We can talk during the walk next class. I had some questions I would like to ask you.”

“In that case, I’ll see you next class.”

Celsia had already begun to leave and Jack jogged to catch up.

“Have a good one Instructor!” he yelled from around the corner.

He simply waved in response and went back to continue packing his things.

“What an interesting young man…”