That afternoon, Yuriko and the other Elite class students were led to a small lecture room labelled Jade 101, by their class advisor, the cat-eyed woman. There were ten of them in all, six nervous-looking boys and four equally nervous girls. For the first time, Yuriko wasn’t the tallest in class, the distinction belonging to a lanky, silver-haired boy with light brown skin whose facial features reminded her of Kale, the boy from Agaza who spent the Season of Fire in the Watchtower.

The room had ten desks spaced equally in a semi-circle, facing a blackboard. There were two doors on either end of the room and large glass windows with curtains drawn to the side. Runescript glowed on the ceiling around a vent that piped in cool air. The light panels shed warm light. At the back of the room were several shelves filled with leatherbound books, some strange ornamental metalwork, and a few wooden rods capped with silver.

“Pick a seat,” Master Alfein said.

Yuriko took a seat near the edge, where she had a good view of the door and the window.

“My name is Kiyo Alfein, Jade Circle Sorceress, Master level. Also a visiting professor from Sharom Academy’s main branch. I arrived in this plane half a season ago and I’ve been given the task of preparing aspiring young Sorcerers on their path. You may address me as Master, Professor, or Sorceress Alfein. Now, kindly introduce yourselves.”

Master Alfein was just a little bit taller than Yuriko, with tawny hair, yellow cat-pupilled eyes, a lightly tanned face, and delicate features She gave them all a toothy smile, her eyes meeting each of theirs for a long moment.

Yuriko felt herself drawn to those eyes. She couldn’t look away and she felt no desire to. It was only when Master Alfein shifted her gaze with a smirk that she shook herself out of whatever that was. The other kids, boys and girls were similarly mesmerized.

“Please begin.” She pointed at a boy on the opposite side from Yuriko and he squeaked and blushed at the attention.

“Emyr Oona Kinnock,” the silver-haired boy stuttered. Master Alfein looked at the next one.

“Diya Hyde Esras,” she said. Diya had her long blue hair in several braids.

“Curious that you and Kinnock would sit next to each other,” Master Alfein remarked, “considering that your families are at odds.”

“That’s our families,” Emyr chuckled wryly.

Diya just shrugged. “It’s a coincidence.”

“Korban Koch Greenwood,” a boy with short-cropped blue-green hair said next.

The next boy was “Tatsuhiko Kim Esras” with shoulder-length blue hair in little curls and the boy after him was “Cole Rivers Whyte” who had black hair and fringe-covered eyes.

“Ella-Mai Haru Wol.”

“Nathan Roan Slith,” said the boy with orange hair.

“Marcus Sommer Scott.” A beefy boy with honey brown hair.

“Anika Haru Finley,” who wore her blue hair in a pixie cut, introduced herself before it was finally Yuriko’s turn.

“Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

Kiyo Alfein nodded once the quick round robin was done.

“Very good. Now, since this only the first meeting and for the benefit of those who aren’t from Rumiga City, er, who are from the provinces, raise your hand please.”

Only Yuriko raised her hand.

“Oh, just you, Ms. Davar, then. Hmm, interesting.”

Yuriko felt the others staring at her with curiosity, though not for very long. Master Alfein drew their attention back.

“Then let’s begin with the basics. I know Kinnock and Esras are from large Clans, the Ducal clans, if I’m not mistaken?”

She leaned back against the instructor’s desk, stretching her arms and arching her back. Her bosom jutted out and Yuriko noticed that most of the boys’ eyes were glued there. Well, except for Emyr Kinnock who was staring at his hands on his desk.

“Anyway, the most basic question and arguably the very foundation of our civilization. Animus, Anima, and of course, Chaos. Can anyone tell me the difference between them?”

One of the Esras, the girl, Diya, raised her hand.

“Go on.”

“Ahem, Anima is the seat of our consciousness and also where our Animus cores are located. Animus is our power and Chaos is, well, the infinite potential that we can harness to our will, though it is also a great source of danger.”

“Uh-huh,” Alfein nodded. “Anything to add? You only got one right.”

“Er, no ma’am, that’s all I know.” Diya blushed.

“Miss Davar, anything to add?’

Yuriko started. Why call on her? She wasn’t volunteering.

“Er, Chaos is where the Wyldlings and Chaos Lords live.”

“A good point but what you refer to is the Chaos Sea or Ocean. It is not the Chaos itself but merely a gathering point of that infinite potential. Chaos,” she leaned over to emphasize her point, and her bosom, “is indeed infinite potential. It is the building block of the planes and of life. Without it, life withers and dies. What we call ambient Chaos that exists within the plane, is something leftover from the building process, something that seeped in through the planar barriers, or something that creatures give off as a natural process of life. I can see your eyes glazing, haha. Well, I’m sure most of you know at least some of this already. Now, the last point, what is Animus and how does it differ from ambient Chaos? No, don’t answer that, instead, read the ‘Treatise on Chaos and Will’ by Amafi Garderon. It’s there in the back, each of you has a copy you may borrow. I expect each of you to read the first part after two days.

“Well, that’s mostly it for the day. Go on, get to know each other. Return to this room early tomorrow, at the third hour after sunrise to receive your scheduled classes. The first year is mostly building foundations but you can choose your speciality between Runescribing, Spellweaving, or Sorcery as early as tomorrow.

“You’ll also learn a meditative exercise designed to increase resonance between your Anima and the ambient Chaos around you, something you’ll need to succeed in any of the three paths ahead. Now, go.”

With that, Master Kiyo Alfein left the lecture hall. Yuriko blinked in surprise at the speed at which the woman left. She just about got up and intended to head over to the bookshelves but three boys made a beeline for her.

“You’re really from the provinces? Which one?” Emyr Kinnock blurted out. His crimson eyes were alight with curiosity. The other two were the curly-haired Tatsuhiko and orange-haired Cole.

“You must be quite talented! And, well, may I say, quite beautiful too!” Cole exclaimed smoothly.

“Er, excuse me,” Yuriko said as she pushed away from the desk and stood up. At least they didn’t crowd around her too much unlike those annoying ones who visited the girl’s dormitories every day. “Yes, I’m from Faron’s Crossing, beyond the Zarek Mountains.”

She gave them a brief nod before spinning on her heels and walking to the bookshelf. She noticed the other two girls, Diya and Anika talking with a boy each. Ella-Mai was walking to the bookshelf, too, with a boy at her heels.

What were they, puppies? Why the fuss? She didn’t need to turn around to know that the other three were at her heels. Shaking her head, she quickened her pace and grabbed the nearest copy of the ‘Treatise’ and headed out the door.

“Wait, wait. Miss Davar, would you like to, uh, partake of afternoon tea?” Cole sidled up next to her.

“No, thank you, perhaps another time. I’d like to get started on the reading.”

The book was about three inches thick and who knew how many pages the first part was. She was already dreading having to wade through all of this.

“Oh, perhaps another time then. Do take care, Miss Davar.”

The hallway was filled with students as Yuriko made her way out. Her heels clicked on the marble floor, though hers was but one set amongst many. She, Krystal, and Mikel would meet after class at The Bistro Ilvain, for a change in dining from the cafeteria. The food at the Golden Willow was good, there was no doubt about it, but it was, well, repetitive.

The restaurant was at the northern part of the Central Reserve, so after she left Agaza she walked along the circumferential road instead of trying to cut through the park. That was the longer way across, ironically, due to the meandering nature of the paths. She could have cut across the woods and fields but well, the shoes she wore right now weren’t meant for traipsing about in the mud and she didn’t want to have to clean them. The Academy sent two pairs of black leather shoes to alternate days with, and about five sets of uniforms, as well as the reserve officer training gear. Laundry day at the end of the week.

Most of the students walking around the road were the older ones. The freshers like her were few and far between. At least for Sharom anyway. Her Academy had the least amount of students per year level, apparently. Give or take a hundred kids. According to Krystal, Agaza had about triple that amount in cadets, while Lunette and Aneurin had about four to five hundred students per year. That meant that there were only a thousand and four hundred students per year level and about seven thousand students for all year levels. If nobody dropped out anyway.

The population of students nearly matched the population of Faron’s Crossing. It was pretty unbelievable. Though, compared to the Lower Ring, or even the Mids, the campuses were quite spacious.

Most of the upperclassmen were flouting the uniform rules, Yuriko realized. The older they were, the more jewellery they had on. The boys weren’t so bad, they only had some rings or necklaces, and a single man with an earring stud. The girls had bangles, anklets, dangly earrings, polished nails, tinted lips, and rouge on their cheeks.

There was a strip of small one to two-storey buildings on the northern part of the park. It had a few shops and restaurants, and a tavern if she read the sign of one right. She was pretty sure a shop named the Tipsy Maid couldn’t be anything other than a pub. The Bistro was at the centre of the strip, already bustling with patrons in red and gold. When she entered the door, she stuck out like a sore thumb in her blue overcoat.

“What’s one of those snobs doing here?” Yuriko heard a mutter. She ignored it and the muted buzz of conversation resumed though she could still feel eyes on her back. Her friends weren’t there yet so she found an empty table near the back, took it, stared at the menu written on the board above the bar. She placed her copy of the Treatise on the table next to her hand while signalling the serving-man.

“Good afternoon,” she said when the server, a boy who didn’t look much older than Kato arrived next to her table. He dusted his hands on his white apron, pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil and nodded in greeting.

“How may I serve, Miss?”

“The afternoon tea set please.”

“Would you like the Rose Black, the Red Haveenian, or the Green Northern Blend?”

“Uhm, Rose Black please.”

“Very good. Anything else, Miss?”

“That’s it for now. Thank you.”

“A pleasure.”

While waiting, for both the tea and her friends, she opened the ‘Treatise’ and took a look at the introduction page. She only got to the second paragraph before the words started swimming and she had to close her eyes. She tried again after a few moments. She crossed a few more paragraphs, and over to the next page before her eyes started to water.

She didn’t really have a problem with reading, no matter what Krystal or her brothers insinuated. But the print on the book was so tiny and close together that the individual letters blended into one sticky mess. She kept trying until the server returned with a pot of hot tea, a cup with milk, and a dish of honey. He also brought a platter of scones and tiny cookies.

The waiter poured tea in the cup for her and presented it with a flourish.

“Thank you,” she smiled and his face reddened, though he answered with a silly grin. Yuriko took a ginger sip. There was just that hint of bitterness that she remedied by adding a dollop of honey. She added a bit of warm milk to the mix and tasted, sighing in satisfaction afterwards. The scones and cookies were wonderful too. She had just finished the entire lot when Krystal and Mikel arrived.

Both of them looked exhausted. Krystal plopped down on her seat with a muted groan while Mikel almost collapsed.

“What happened to the two of you?”

“Physical training!” they moaned in concert.

“Chaos! You would have loved it! “ Krystal muttered.

Yuriko stiffened. “Don’t remind me,” she growled.

“Oh, sorry, sorry.”

“No matter,” Yuriko shrugged, “Was it harder than what we usually do?”

“A bit,” Mikel huffed, “mostly because the instructors were far more strict than you ever were.” He sighed. “They chewed us up for not hitting our training cap for our Anima strength, followed by an hour-long lecture on how much time we wasted over the Season of Fire. Well, how was your day?”

“Tame, compared to yours,” she replied wistfully. “I have to finish the first part of this book by the day after tomorrow.” She nudged the ‘Treatise’. “I’m having trouble reading, to be honest.”

“Always the musclehead,” Krystal grinned. “Well, we’re all experiencing something we normally don’t enjoy. How about we drown it down with some parfaits?”

“Excellent idea,” Yuriko nodded sagely.

She signalled for the serving-man and simply enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with her two childhood friends. She’d need to crack down on the book and she needed to be as fortified as possible. Why did Mum want her in Sharom anyway? She’d yet to know why, and nobody told her anything.