The College District was way out of where Theo usually stayed and/or lurked around. It was in the inner ring of Union City, nestled between the House District (which wasn’t a district for houses, but the noble Houses) and the Union Heart.

Meanwhile, Theo’s shack and The Pub were in the Outskirts, so called because they didn’t have an official name, having been a gradual growth of the city that was nameless until it was essentially adopted as the official name. Theo knew a lot of unofficial names for it, however. The Slums, Stinktown, Starving Row, Crime Alley, there were quite a few. And these were just the ones Theo had overheard being used by people IN the Outskirts. He couldn’t begin to imagine what creative euphemisms the nobles had come up with to describe it without describing it. That is, if they knew where it was or that it existed in the first place.

As Theo undertook the hour-long walk from The Pub to the College of Songs, he felt increasingly self-conscious the further in he went. He went from blending in to having clothes worse than most, to clearly sticking out. The buildings were well-maintained, and then they were made from things other than wood. Security guards started to be a regular part of the scenery, and so did lovely-looking parks and fruit trees, and things that Theo felt belonged more in a fancy fake city he heard about in tales than the city he knew. And this was just the Commerce District!

Everything was different here. No beggars, nobody looking haggard, no general electric apprehension lingering in the air. Speaking of, even the air tasted different. Surreptitiously, he tried to sniff himself, and caught out of the corner of his eye a couple walking by as they stared and laughed quietly. Blushing, Theo quickened his pace, trying not to think about how much he stuck out, or wonder about how much nicer the city was here, or why more of the city couldn’t be this way.

He quickly passed from the Outskirts, through the Commerce District, and was well on his way into the central districts. Well, that was until he hit the wall that separated the inner ring of Union City from the rest. There wasn’t a line for the gate, but there were guards eyeing up everyone that walked past, and those were the people that still looked like they belonged in the Commerce District. Theo could feel a pit form in his stomach. Did he even have a plan on how to get in? He had the coin, but that was it. Would they just look at him and refuse to let him in, and not even listen to what he had to say?

Theo found himself slowing down as he approached, suddenly unsure, doubting that this was the right choice. Maybe if he turned back now he could avoid some embarrassment. Who knew if this would work out, or if he would actually get to go to the College of Song. Why did they give him the coin? He ran his finger over the coin in his pocket, feeling it and just making sure that it was real and he didn’t imagine it all happening as an exhaustion-fuelled hallucination. It was still warm, and pressing his thumb over the textured surface helped him convince himself that it was real, and this was all real, and it would continue to be real.

Alan mentioned that The Dancing Wind had seen something in him, and maybe he was right. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The air really did smell different here. Opening his eyes again, he looked around. Truly, genuinely looked around. Nobody was looking at him. Sure, he didn’t fit in, but everyone was too busy going about their own days to really notice what was going on. Steeling himself, he walked up to the gate.

The guards stood in front, and stared at him the way a cow stares unfocused over the horizon. “Business?” they sighed, in unison.

“I’m going to the College of Song.” Theo said, as confidently as he could, trying to keep his back straight and voice steady. The guards just looked at him, and it felt like they might have even been looking through him.

“Proof?” Another sigh. The guard on the left scratched his face without moving any part of his body besides his arm. Theo carefully took the coin out of his pocket, making sure to cover it up until he had his hand out, and gingerly unfurled his fingers to show them the coin. The guards looked from his face, to the coin, back to his face, back to the coin, before nodding in unison.

The guards stepped aside, opened the gate, and waited there without saying a word. After a moment of awkwardly assuming there would be more instructions, Theo took a look at the bored guards already back at their staring contest with the sky, and walked through.

If he thought the Commerce District was fancy, then Theo couldn’t believe the luxury he saw now. The streets were paved with bricks, and the houses (if they could be called that instead of mansions) were made of polished stone and metal, with wooden accents. They were absolutely massive, and Theo started to wonder just what one could own to justify that much space.

Theo slowly found his way to the College District, after gawking like a yokel at all the houses. Which, to be fair, was pretty accurate in this case. And the College District was even grander than the House District. It was the first time he’d seen it, and it was mind-boggling. He walked until he was between four giant complexes. In the middle, a sprawling, square park, with trees and hills and lots of people dressed in robes and armour hanging about and relaxing. On every side, above the trees Theo could see massive buildings, and a circular courtyard filled the space between the two (and was where he stood). The two he was currently between were pretty easy to place.

The one on his right had statues of Gods (or at least, what Theo assumed to be Gods – he recognised Gilth, but he knew nothing about what the other Gods looked like, just what they’d done in bard standards), people kneeling to pray at the statues or otherwise engage in religious devotion, and people carrying large baskets of food away from the temple. This was the College of Prayer, where priests were trained.

The one on his left was a well-built compound, but otherwise unremarkable…if you ignored the sounds of explosions and fireballs and other magical effects flying out from inside. And while Theo knew that he didn’t have much in the way of magic or the understanding of magic, he could guess that this was not the College of Song, but instead the College of Spells (and he would be right). He headed towards the College of Spells.

Walking around the perimeter of the park, Theo saw a lot of people his age relaxing, and it felt odd to see them in a way he couldn’t immediately place. As he walked along the very long perimeter of the park, he had a few minutes to contemplate why this was. He realised it was a combination of seeing people his age genuinely happy and not worrying about drawing attention to themselves with how loud they were talking or laughing in public, or how they were dressed, or where they were. They felt comfortable, and safe. Theo realised that he couldn’t really remember the last time he felt safe. Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought and picked up his pace.

The third college he passed by had archery targets set up out front, and a lot of sweaty people exercising or sparring. It was the College of War, and Theo realised that this meant if he’d gone the other direction, he would have found the College of Song faster. Kicking himself, he took a moment to appreciate the rhythmic clashing of metal on metal, and flesh on flesh, and wood on wood, and a thousand laboured breaths, before moving on.

Finally, as he came close to the fourth (and last) college, he heard a piece floating gently over him. It was a light, delicate thing, and he could feel the fragile melancholy behind it. He walked faster, almost running as he tried to see who was playing it. Just before the piece ended, he reached the front, and saw not only a soloist on a flute, but a dancer whirling around on his tiptoes, and a circle in the courtyard watching with rapt attention. As it ended, claps and cheers rang out, and the floutist bowed before sitting down in the circle and another performer stood and made their way to the centre.

Theo stood there, transfixed as performer after performer went up and played. After five or six, he knew it was getting late and he should go into the College, but he couldn’t bring himself to move away from all this beautiful art that was freely gifted to the world.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Theo physically jumped, as a head appeared near his right shoulder. Turning around, he saw The Dancing Wind (he presumed their name was Sparrow but it was still weird to call them that when he’d thought of them as The Dancing Wind for years. Then again, that was back when he thought he’d never meet them either, so maybe it was time for a change). They were looking at him with a relaxed grin and amusement flashing through their eyes. “The first time you hear what a group of bards can do together. Times like this I really feel that bards focused on fighting are missing out.”

“Now,” continued The Dancing Wind, “Let’s get you sorted. You’ll have all the time in the world to listen once you know what exactly is going on.” They led Theo past the courtyard, past the performer and the circle (who were looking over at them and whispering), into what looked like an incredibly large inn, made of wood and stone carved and polished in ways that made it look just as good as marble and gold.

“Maria! We have an early entrant for next cohort.” The Dancing Wind called out to the receptionist, who looked up from writing on a piece of parchment. Maria sat at a desk in front of a massive wall of pigeon holes, all filled to the brim with paper. She wore half-moon glasses on a chain, and had her black hair in a bun. It was starting to grey, and looked like strands of ash-covered steel. She had the look of someone who would be perfectly polite while you were in their good books, but if you pissed them off, then they would continue to act perfectly polite while ruining your life.

“Is this your project for the year, sir?” Maria responded, adjusting her glasses and looking critically at Theo. He sheepishly grinned back.

“You know it. Get him registered, and I’ll sort out the testing and everything else. You know the drill.” She whistled, and out of the pigeon holes a storm of paper fluttered down and in front of her. A number of matching pens levitated, and started to write on all the paper in concert.

“When she said project, she-“ The Dancing Wind interrupted Theo. “Classes don’t start for another two months, but I’m going to train you up. I wasn’t lying when I said you had no talent. I want you to come here every day at noon, and I’m going to teach you myself.” It took a moment to process the fact that he was going to personally get tutored by The Dancing Wind. It took another moment for all the questions to start manifesting in his mind.

“Why?” That was the big one. It made no sense why someone as famous and talented as The Dancing Wind would want anything to do with him. Their response didn’t clarify anything, either.

“I’m bored.”