“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

- Albert Einstein

They had returned to the townhouse for the night. Finalizing their acquisition of a dormitory room of sufficient size while restricting it to only the three of them took time.

Maximilian was only the son of a noble from the country after all. And in the evening while in Alea's room they had met up with Vanessa, or more correctly put- she had met up with them.

The night seemed very short as they were woken by a friendly housemaid.

Washing, eating breakfast went past in a daze. Lorelle accompanied them this time, for they were to remain in the academy and Alea could use the help.

“You look like something the cat dragged in.” Adam gave his honest observation. “Come on in, you can rest a bit on the way. It's market day in the merchant quarter so it will take a bit longer.”

He flicked the reins and the horses, snorting unwillingly, pulled the coach through the quiet streets of the ivy terrace.

As soon as they left that tranquil haven they were assaulted by a cacophony of sound. People cursing and cajoling. Masses of humanity and some few individuals of other races pressed along the crowded streets. Two contraptions that Mireille had seen before, but only from afar, made her sit up straight. “Does that carriage not have horses?”

Alea looked outside and nodded. “That is a new invention by the guild of enchanters. It is powered with mana residue or crystal dust as it has become customary to call it.”

The vehicle in question had a large box-like contraption fastened at the front made from brass and wood from which two large many-jointed mechanical arms sprang. Those arms were attached to points on solid metal plates fastened to the outside of the foremost wheels. They made pumping motions and so served to propel the coach. A liveried servant sat on top of the ‘box’ and manipulated the speed and direction with yard-long levers. It looked a bit impractical but was nevertheless speedy and even effective it seemed.

“Fascinating.” Mireille closed the curtain, reducing the clamor from outside a bit. “It seems Margrinar is a lot more progressive than dear old Rivenlorn.”

"It beats an earth elemental," Alyssa remarked dryly.

Lorelle also looked on, fascinated, but remained silent.

Answering Mireille, Alea nodded and said, “That is naturally the case. All the best and brightest are taught at our academy, how could it be otherwise.” she looked at them and then smiled. “The talent comes from everywhere though. And not all remain in Margrinar, despite the best efforts of our ruler.”

They left the city, and the last stretch towards the academy was very pleasant in comparison, the traffic light. The air cleared and it became easier to breathe. There was no scratching sensation at the back of the throat anymore.

Knocking from above roused the sleepy girls. “We have arrived. I wish you a most productive day, ladies!” Adam called.

“Mistress let me get that.” Lorelle took Alea’s bag. Blond hair held back by a frilled headpiece she was the very picture of a maid.

As they exited the vehicle they saw that they were not alone in that. Many carriages and even some saddled riding horses stood beside chatting students. Most were still attired in regular clothes, some were in the company of their parents, many had servants with them.

To their surprise, they saw professor Reneus walking towards them. Behind him calling to mind the picture of a sheepdog herding its charges came Mrs. Glenspring.

“Greetings! I welcome you all to the Academy of the Arts of Margrinar. I am Professor Reneus Flammensiegel and today I have the distinct pleasure...” He glanced at the impassive woman standing slightly behind and to the side of him. “...to allocate your dorm rooms and give an introductory speech. But first things first. I have here a list which should contain all of the necessary information. I will call out your name and you will join me here.” He pointed to his right.”If you are not called we will have Mrs. Glenspring sort you out.”

After that, he proceeded to call them one by one. There were probably about fifty first-years in this group. Some stood out from the rest, including Mireille, Alyssa, and Alea. The last two were even more conspicuous because of their familiars than the attention their appearance alone would garner them. Cyrus preened under the attention.

There was a tall handsome boy with a hawkish nose and hair of a golden color. His bearing was regal and he came with two armed and armored retainers, two older men with the appearance of veteran soldiers or even knights. They wore mail underneath tabards bearing the towers of Margrinar, longswords swung at their hips. He did not grace most of the other students with his attention and simply kept to himself.

Then there was a slim, pretty girl with the same distinctly golden-colored hair that stood near but not beside him with a muscular-looking woman attending her, also armed with a long, thin blade.

The brown-haired Lucille who had introduced herself to the trio at the academic evaluation shyly waved at them her glasses glinting in the morning light.

The boy who had tried to join them for lunch the last time nodded but did not come over to talk.

There was a pair of siblings bearing features signifying the influence of elven blood. A brother and his sister it seemed. They had hair of an odd green with strands of white-blonde color, larger eyes and a more slender build. They stood a bit aside, the girl protectively in front of her sibling.

A tanned and muscular young man with a ready smile rode up to them as the roll-call was still going on and joined them. He had wavy, red-golden hair and a clean-cut van-dyke beard. He bore a longsword at his hip. What caught their attention was that he greeted both of the golden-haired siblings. The girl gave a reserved smile, the boy simply shook his head and gestured him to stay away.

Another girl attracted the attention of Mireille because she eyed Alyssa with distrust. She had blonde ringlets falling past her shoulder and a thin, pinched-looking face.

She wore the school uniform, which, for the girls, was a robe that reached to the knees with wide sleeves, the fabric was a deep green with golden accents and seams, dark buttons closed the robe in the front. It accentuated the figure and was held together with a utilitarian belt from which hung several pouches. A half-cape also in dark green lined in black was thrown over the left shoulder and fastened with a brooch that signified the year of the student and presented the academy coat of arms.

On some, she saw small bands around the upper arm in the colors, red, white, green, and blue. She leaned towards Alea and asked softly. “Alea, do you know what those colored bands signify?”

“Oh, that are marks of affiliation. It all started with races. The differently colored teams led to them being called the ‘Blues’ for example. And with time it seems that this translated towards political leanings. But Max is the one to ask. I might get it wrong. They are not a thing in Grunewald.”

Then it was their turn. “Mireille Annirstochter, Alea von Graufurt and Alyssa Miner. Come here please, you are rooming together in the Wisteria Dormitory.”

And then it was time for the speech. Reneus cleared his throat.

“Welcome to the Academy of the Arts.

Did you know that this academy was not founded here in Margrinar? It is the continuation of the great Academis of Allisair and it is rumored that even that was only the successor of an academy from beyond this world. Look around you. Those halls were some of the first buildings we built as we settled here. The magicians were always one of the pillars of human rule and they needed a place to secure their foundation. And that is here. Place a human beside an elf, a dwarf, a giant, a dragon." He looked at the two elven-blooded siblings and continued. "You will find him or her wanting. We are not as strong, not as agile or tough but in the art of magic and the sciences we can hold our own. Not all of us though. Many will never amount to much, magically speaking, and talent like yours is rare. Become the pillar upon which humanity can stand firm.”

He was passionate about some of what he told them. But he thankfully kept it short. Some students seemed introspective after his speech. Most seemed to look forward to lunch and stowing their luggage.

“And that concludes this speech. You are the continuation of hundreds of years of tradition. No one today knows how long. Be worthy of the title Student of the Arts.” He bowed his head and grinned. “Until then.”

The crowd dispersed. “We should take our baggage and seek out the dormitory first.” Alyssa proposed.

Maximilian was waiting nearby and came over. “Hello, dear sister, my friends, Lorelle.” He nodded amiably. Mr. Brache followed behind him and as he gestured, took some of the baggage earning him a grateful nod from Lorelle.

The Wisteria Dormitory was built farther back into a small dell which gave the illusion of a secluded valley, wisteria trees, the houses namesakes, stood beside a small man-made pond. The building was not large but was big enough to house maybe two dozen people.

The housemother was an older matron with a warm smile. She had blond hair mixed with gray, red cheeks and nose. “I am Madam Gosling. But you can call me Martha if you want.”

She showed them to their room which was spacious with two bunk beds and four desks, two big wardrobes, and four chests. There was a small bathroom attached to the relief of all. Lorelle would sleep with the other servants in a separate room and would come over in the morning to help where needed.

The room was nice and airy with two glow globes fixed in the ceiling. Some rugs lay on the polished wooden floor and big wooden beams supported the ceiling. The room was illuminated lengthwise through two big latticed windows with heavy drapes and shutters that could be closed as needed. The walls were whitewashed stone.

They quickly divvied up the bed and storage and then went outside again. Two girls were walking down the corridor which led to a small store-room at one end and to the dining room on the other with the door to the outside in between.

One of the girls was Lucille. “Oh hello, you are rooming here too? I would have thought that you would be more likely to be in Golden Bough or Rose Mansion.” Both the dormitories mentioned were single-occupant and meant for noble families.

“Hello to you too. Nice to see a familiar face.” Mireille grinned. “We wanted to room together, and this was the perfect place.”

“Oh, I see. This here is Hannelore, my roommate.” Her companion smiled and nodded. “The other two aren't here yet. They are from farther abroad and sent notice that they will not make it before the end of next week probably.”

“See you at dinner?”

“Yes, we will be there!”

They went outside and together looked at the pond.

Cyrus dived straight in and submerged with nary a ripple.

“Ah! Mireille, can you swim? Please save him!” Alyssa looked worried.

Mireille nodded and jumped in with a great splash where she saw Cyrus come back to the surface with a big catfish in his small maw. The former was bleeding from many stab wounds. She laughed. “I think he only wanted to fish.” Then she looked down at her dress and seeing the pond scum and algae sighed. “You will help me with that Ms. Miner.”

Alyssa went red in the face and helped her out of the water. Alea held her small hand protectively before her face and her shoulders were shaking suspiciously. “Don't you dare laugh at my heroics!” Mireille smiled at her.

Drying her with some spells they proceeded to walk around the dormitory, behind the building was a stone circle with metal posts set at the corners. Cyrus was near comatose after eating half of the catfish.

“This looks exactly like the ones at the dueling place.” Alyssa inspected one of the poles.

“This is an older circle. Nowadays they use gravel, if it gets damaged then it's simple to repair.” Alea said dryly.

“How does it work exactly? The poles I mean,” Alyssa questioned.

“They channel energies into a dome that protects the spectators and the surroundings. In the central dueling field there is also an earth elemental charged with preserving the life of the students. If they misjudge their or their opponent's strength too badly it will take action. And then there is magical healing, so the most you get are scars probably. But that means that men, boys really, are much more prone to dueling.” Alea drew a deep breath.

The wisteria trees usually bloomed twice a year and the last stubborn blossoms still hung from the branches. The ground was covered in violet petals.

They spent the day exploring the grounds after they had finished unpacking and decorating their room.

Come evening they ate dinner in the common dining room. Martha made a hearty stew accompanied by freshly baked bread. No one had any complaints. Other than the trio there were ten girls in residence. Two were still traveling and one room was without occupants at the moment.

The atmosphere was lively but everyone was apprehensive of Cyrus and the clockwork spider. The coloration of Alyssa was also a topic when they thought that she was not listening.

Getting rid of the plant matter and water stains on Mireille's dress was thankfully easier than feared. The spells woven into the metal plate attached to her clothes allowed them to repair the damage simply by pouring in mana. Lorelle removed the dirt with a dustpan and broom.

The night went uneventfully even though Mireille deplored the fact that they had to sleep separately, the bunk beds were simply too small for comfort. Their uniforms had arrived in the night. The measurements were correct, even if she did not remember them being taken.

Together with the rest of the dormitory girls they ate breakfast and went to the main building for their first class.

“Good morning. I am Mr. Glames and will have the pleasure to be your teacher for history and theory of magic.”

The room was rectangular and made of whitewashed stone like many in this academy. The windows faced the outside yard this time and gave a nice view of the flower beds, although there were not many flowers left so late in the year. Seats were simple wooden chairs beside a small desk. There was a raised area at one end on which stood a lectern and table with a blackboard supported by thick metal clamps on the wall.

The teacher was a middle-aged man with a monocle over one of his blue eyes. He had dirty blond hair and wore a brown jacket with trousers and polished boots with buckles in the style they had already seen in the streets outside. His hat hung from a peg that seemed made for it beside the door.

In the front sat the two golden siblings. In the back sat their armed attendants, waiting patiently. And as of a few minutes ago, Mireille heard that the nickname 'the golden siblings' was semi-officially adopted. She snickered a bit at that.

The buff red-gold boy was seated in the back and hung from his seat without seeming to care for the lecture. Sensing Mireille's gaze he raised an eyebrow and gave a lazy wave with his left hand. She grinned, nodded, and let her gaze roam further.

There was the pinched-looking girl that for whatever reasons did not seem to like her friend Alyssa. She was looking at Alea at the moment who had put the spider on her desk and held both hands to her face. She looked very still and disinterested, the spider was very active though and rotated the tiny head to get a good view of the board, showing to those who knew her that she was very engaged indeed.

Alyssa was taking notes and looked a bit nervous. The people here were mostly nobles or well-off middle class, a far cry from her destitute household even if Mireille had her beat in that regard. She was feeling distinctly out of place.

“Everyone. We will spend the next years together so I would like to take the time for a short self-introduction. Please state your name, your place of birth, and your most prominent ability. If you want you can include a hobby but that is optional. We will start with his highness I think.” He pointed at the golden-haired youth. He seemed exasperated but nevertheless got up from his seat swept his eyes over the assembled students and said, “My name is Carl Askander Josephus von Margrinar, I am the second-born son of King Vilander and my most potent ability is fire magic.” He quickly sat down again.

“Thank you. Now on to you.” Mr. Glames pointed at the golden-haired girl next.

She had already prepared herself and stood up turning towards the calls. Her golden locks swept around her and gleamed in the sunlight. She seemed like a storybook princess, the only flaw and it made her probably even more adorable, was a slightly wide mouth. She firmed her blue eyes and said. “I am Lieseleta Ophelia von Margrinar. I am the youngest daughter of King Vilander.” She looked at Carl as if she wanted to continue but he shot her a warning look and she simply gave a forced-looking smile and finished with the words, “my most prominent ability is time magic. My most beloved hobby is botany.” She sat down relatively abruptly.

Thus went the self-introductions. Mireille focused on the shrew, as she had dubbed the pinched-looking girl.

“My name is Alexandra von Stetting. I was born in Stetting on the southern coast. My most prominent ability is light-based magic. And my hobby is religion.” She nodded towards the rest of the class before sitting down a bit hastily.

Then it was Alea's turn. “I am Alea von Graufurt.” the small girl took a deep breath and steadied herself on the table. “I was born in Grau...in Grunewald, and my most potent ability is light-based Magic.” she seemed a bit lost and then concluded, “my hobby is clockwork mechanics.” It had all been delivered in a bit of a monotone. The spider was agitatedly waving her forelegs and scuttled to and fro on the table. A girl in front of her pulled her table a bit farther away while producing a jarring, scraping sound. Alyssa reached over to her and squeezed her hand.

“My name is Alyssa Miner. I was born in Firswending. My most adept magic is void magic.” As she said void magic several students looked at her with widened eyes and one or two began to whisper to each other.

“Please be silent when another makes her introduction, you might remember your most basic courtesy!” Mr. Glames was not amused.

Alyssa looked flustered and a bit of darkness gathered around her left hand. She grabbed her left hand with the right and squeezed while continuing. She felt the calming presence of Cyrus and Asandria. ‘You are never completely alone.’ the soft whisper of Asandria sounded inside her head bringing a pleasant cold with it.

“My hobby is singing.” She quickly sat down and let her hair fall into her face with her right hand still painfully squeezing the left.

The murmurs ebbed slowly. “I am Mireille Annirstochter, born in Saintscrossing. Nice to meet you all.” she smiled and put herself between Alyssa and the rest. “My magic is purely lightning-based so it could be seen as my strongest talent. My hobby is sword fighting.” She gave an exaggerated courtly bow, then sat down. There was some laughter and the atmosphere lightened.

The introductions continued. “My name is Lucille of Dornenfurt. I was born there and my magic is primarily spatial divination. My hobby is reading.” She also quickly moved out of the limelight and sat down.

The two green-haired siblings were next, the girl looked at her brother and nodded. "I am Vivienne of Kruog's Breach. I was born there too. My most potent magic is air magic and my hobby is sailing." Her voice was soft and melodic.

Her brother spoke next and his voice was even softer, Alyssa had to concentrate to understand him at all. "Valens of Kruoghs Breach, born there. My magic is mostly water-based. My hobby is sailing too." His speech quickened at the end and after he had finished he sat down, head lowered with his bangs hiding his expression. The sister put her hand on his shoulder and said something too quiet to hear.

The teacher nodded. "Thank you. Next."

The brown-haired, tall boy that had been making eyes at Alyssa introduced himself next. “I am Leonhard Poroskar born here in Kronenburg. My most potent magic is earth magic. My hobby is riding.” He bowed and then sat down. Approving murmurs swept through the class. He had had a practiced manner and the introduction went smoothly.

And last, the red and gold-haired boy was called to introduce himself. “My name is Tervellin Gold, I was born in Deeplake in the Kingdom of Erksel. My most potent magic is fire. My hobby is hunting.” He grinned. “And flirting.” The teacher looked disapproving, some girls blushed, some looked a bit interested.

Some murmurs roused Mireille's interest - “...bastard son?…” “...Gold is not a name…”

“Please remain within the bounds of good manners.” Mr. Glames shook his head. “With that out of the way let's start with a review of the ‘Laws of the Arcane’ by the second God King of Allisair. What was his name again? Mr. Gold if you would.” His eyes came to rest on Tervellin.

“His name was Askander Crius ‘the Wavetamer’,”

“That is correct. Mrs. Ilkenrath why was he called the Wavetamer?”

The lesson continued.

History of magic mostly meant- History of Allisair, which was quickly understood by both Mireille and Alyssa. They took notes on the paper that had been provided by Alea. Mireille was suffering and frequently shook her sore wrist.

Then came magical theory.

“What is magical affinity? What is magic? Those questions were answered long ago but the implication of those answers is as important today as when the great gate was built. Magical affinity in short is the ability of your soul and to a lesser extent your body to affect and be affected by magical energies of a certain flavor. Let us say air magic. If you have an affinity with air magic, then your soul can grasp the flow of air-aspected mana, and spells that use this element are more effective and less draining, some even require a certain affinity to have a chance to work.

To continue with another often-used example, it is as if you used a sieve to gather water from a river, if you used a bucket instead it would be more effective with less effort on your part. You could even injure yourself especially if you used the more volatile elements.

Tolerance to certain magical and even mundane effects is also dependent on your ability. If you have for example a high affinity with fire, you will find, especially if you use fire magic often, you will suffer less from heat and will even be resistant to burns.

There are many methods to train affinity, all have a downside in that they will most likely reduce your ability in the element that is classically seen as opposed. Nonetheless, this academy encourages specialization and it is, in our opinion, better to be a great fire-mage than a mediocre jack of all trades. So interested students can apply for affinity training with their respective elemental teachers.

Magic is neither a liquid nor a gas, it is also not a solid even if it can be crystallized and there are applications that form liquid or gaseous manifestations of pure mana. It is a paradox that eludes our best minds but there are theories for the magical manipulation of all states of mana. You will simply have to separately memorize the effective methods for dealing with each.”

Mireille looked a bit shell-shocked after the morning lessons were done.