Even after three hours, Beatrice still couldn't sit still in her seat, and the bouncing of the bus didn't help her excited, jittery nerves.

The young woman sat straight in her bus seat with her eyes glued to the window and the scenery that flashed by. Rolling green fields as far as the eye could see coolly sloped upward in the distance and melded into the base of a mountain. Trees stretched up towards the sky with boughs that danced in the wind. There wasn't a cloud in the sky this brisk morning. It was a wonderful, cloudless day.

While she was appreciating the view, a tall brick fence suddenly blocked it. Beatrice blinked, shaken out of her spell. It was a pretty long wall, and even looking far to the front of the bus, it looked like it would take a while for the view to come back.

Someone else in the bus sneezed, and Beatrice looked over to the others for the first time in a while.

Most were asleep, but a few others were wide awake and clearly nervous. Beatrice tried to catch the attention of a girl sitting across the aisle from her, but she was busy staring holes into the headrest of the seat in front of her. She had bronze skin and dark hair, but looked like she was fighting back the urge to vomit. Beatrice almost moved to offer the girl some water maybe, or a snack, but decided against it. She looked on edge enough as it was.

Looking around the bus, she couldn’t help but wonder about the others in the bus. What magic were they good at? Where did they come from? What were their names? Buzzing with eager energy, she just couldn't sit still!

A young man or woman — Beatrice couldn’t quite tell — was sleeping slumped against the bus’s window. Their hair was quite long and unbrushed, and looked like the animal nest her mother always said her own curly hair would look like if she didn’t brush it. As she was watching, a small winged creature poked its head from the tangle of hair. More curious than surprised, Beatrice strained to make out what it was that was literally making a nest in someone’s hair. But the person started to stir, and Beatrice retreated into her seat again.

After a while of sitting and glancing out the window and seeing only the brick wall, Beatrice chanced another moment to look around.

Another young woman sat just behind the nervous girl, and looked completely unbothered in contrast. She had her long legs stretched out across the seat beside her, and her boots jutted out into the middle aisle. She glanced at Beatrice — who was staring at her — out of the side of her sharp, dark eyes, and sneered.

The young witch frowned slightly and faced forward again. "I guess I could try making friends later instead." she muttered under her breath as she patted the earthen pot she held in her lap. "Right, Beau?"

The little plant that lived in the pot shifted in its soil in response, and yawned. Beatrice stroked the small mandrake's leaves softly, coaxing Beau back to sleep before it could wake up and scream in the bus. Beatrice smiled, and her thoughts drifted back to her mother and father, and their faces when she told them she had chosen to attend classes at Ravensburl.

“Are you sure you want to go to Ravensburl?” Her father asked her even as they approached the station. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to Hawkswood instead? It’s not too late to change your mind! Your brother had a wonderful time there!” His skin was gnarled and tanned from the sun, but his eyes were bright and creased with worry.

“Nope!” Beatrice had replied with a big grin. “I’m sure of it! Ravensburl is where I should go, dad. I’ll be able to learn a lot there.”

“It’s only around a decade old.” Her mother chimed in, wringing her hands. “We don’t know much about its reputation yet. Or the quality of education! Hawkswood has a far more established lineage, not to mention the people that are known to be accepted—”

“It will be fine! I think I’ll be able to meet more people this way too. I love you both so much!” Beatrice said as she wrangled her unwieldy trunk to wait for the bus. “I’ll be back for the holidays, I promise!”

“I can’t say for the kind of people they’ll accept, but…” Beatrice’s father grimaced. “Do take care, dearest! Write back often!”

Beatrice smiled fondly at the memory, and was just about to look around at her fellow first years when the brick wall abruptly ended.

Now instead of an undisturbed field, she could clearly see the side of a mountain, and the castle of rose-colored brick that sat nestled on it. And it looked like it had been abandoned for a hundred years. A tower had fallen and lay crumbling, its stonework and brick scattered across a winding path. Sunlight streamed straight into huge gaps in the roof, and vines covered the eastern side of the castle till it was a blanket of green.

"Is that it?" An unimpressed voice in the bus asked. It came from a puzzled young man with olive skin and slicked back hair. "Are we seriously coming all this way, for that? You can't expect us to live in ruins!"

As other voices started to voice their concerns, the bus driver laughed. He was a large man with a booming laugh. "That's Ravensburl, alright! But don't let looks fool you. Don't you know what one of the major schools of magic is?"

The question was met with silence for a few seconds, till the same young man scoffed. "We don't, that's why we're going to this school."

Then suddenly, Beatrice's hand was in the air. "Oh me, me! I know!"

"Hah! There's an eager young lady! Go ahead Miss Gaia, what is it?"

"It's Illusion!"

"And right you are, young lady!" The bus driver laughed again as he slowed and took a right, driving towards a rusted wrought iron gate that swung open on creaking hinges. As the bus's wheels went from smooth asphalt to crunching gravel and cleared the gate, the castle changed. Where there were once ruins, the castle was now whole, with several fully functioning towers with a large bell in one, and the path that wound down the mountain was meticulously maintained and ended at a large courtyard with a fountain. Someone wearing a large lilac hat was waiting by the fountain. They waved at the bus as they got closer.

"Ah, that'll be your welcoming party. Careful getting off the bus now, everybody. Watch your step." The bus driver put the bus in park and was about to get up to help the students alight, but the most eager and impatient teens were on their feet already. The long-suffering bus attendant got off ahead to remove the luggage from the compartment. "Hey now, go slow! The opening ceremony isn't till later— no pushing on my bus!"

Beatrice giggled, practically vibrating with excited energy. While others were hogging the middle aisle to get at their belongings stashed in the overhead racks, Beatrice took stock of the items she had with her. The seat beside her was empty, so she had put a small bag of her personal belongings on it. She had Beau on her lap, her wand in her bag, and a beginner druid's staff in the trunk. All set for school!

Clutching Beau's pot tightly, she pushed herself into the middle aisle and out of the bus with a smattering of 'excuse me's,' and 'oh, sorry!" Once out, she joined her fellow first year's in a small crowd in front of the person with the lilac hat. Now that they were all on even ground, Beatrice realized that this person was fairly short. She could only see the top of the wide-brimmed hat from where she was in the crowd.

Beau squeaked in their pot, and Beatrice stroked the mandrake's leaves. Then she looked around at the crowd, wide-eyed. Did no one else have a familiar with them? Was she the only one? Oh no, what if she wasn't supposed to bring her familiar! She clutched Beau's pot even tighter. Beside her, the nervous girl with bronze skin was staring at the mandrake. Even off the bus, she looked about to throw up.

"Hello! Hey!" The person with the lilac hat piped up. It was a witch, wearing a purple hooded sweatshirt, light purple leggings, and no shoes. She waved at the crowd to get their attention. "Hey, excuse me, over here! Hi!"

The students more or less quieted down after a bit more waving.

The witch continued. "Hello there, and welcome to Ravensburl Academy of Witchcraft! My name is Catherine Fisch, and I'm a third-year at the Academy. I'll be leading you all up to the castle." She beamed with an eager smile at the crowd. A bright blue creature appeared from behind the witch and floated in the air beside her as if swimming. It looked like a cat, but had the lower body of a fish.

"Oh! A purrmaid!" Beatrice said suddenly, amazed. All eyes turned to look at her, and she shrunk back. She saw the witch from earlier staring back at her with those dark, sharp eyes. She didn't look impressed one bit. Beatrice stared down at Beau's leaves with a nervous gulp.

"Who said that? You're completely right, it's a purrmaid!" Catherine replied, chuckling. "This is my familiar, and they'd much rather be called Catfish. Anyway, I see.....Oh, does only one person have a familiar? You there, with the pot, is that a familiar?"

"Huh, me?" Beatrice looked up, and Catherine waved her over to the front of the crowd. "Yes, it's my Beau, he's a mandrake."

A hand went up in the crowd and a young man carrying a birdcage came forward. "I have a familiar as well, a barn owl... I thought that familiars were only several types of animals?" he asked, incredulously staring at the two witches.

"Normally they are. But here at Ravensburl, a larger degree of freedom is allowed, even encouraged. What if you didn't bond with any of the "standard" animals enough for them to be your familiar? What if, instead, you got spirits or elementals?" Catherine smiled and patted her familiar, who purred under her touch and made a sound like popping bubbles. "Does having a "non-standard" familiar make you any less of a mage?"

The young man made a face. "I guess not..."

Another hand went up in the crowd: it was the nervous girl.

"Yes?" Catherine said, gesturing to her.

"What if you don't have a familiar? Or...Or a wand and staff?" the girl said. She looked pale and was glancing back at the gate like she wanted to run.

"I was just getting to that! If you do not have a familiar, or wand, or staff, please don't worry!" Catherine held her hands out in a placating way. "Please don't be nervous. Headmistress knew that not everyone might have one, but Ravensburl is prepared for that so, later during the opening ceremony, you'll be receiving ones all your own."

The nervous girl's relieved sigh had her almost buckling at the knees. The others in the crowd who had similar worries broke into nervous chuckles and reassured smiles.

Catherine clapped her hands together twice. "Okay! If that's all your questions for now, please follow me! We have a while to go up the path." She turned away from the crowd and started up the path, but a few hands went up to ask questions again. The third-year kept walking. "Your luggage is being brought to your rooms. Yes, you've already been assigned rooms and one roommate each. If you have any concerns about your roommate, you can ask the Headmistress about switching. Any other concerns will be answered at the opening ceremony."

Most of the hands went down, satisfied with those answers. Beatrice hefted her bag in one hand and Beau's pot in the other, and followed after Catherine. Behind her at the bus, the bus attendant was almost done unloading all of the luggage. One hand was still up.

Without looking around, Catherine answered. "There's no dress code! Yes, even about shoes, I know." The last hand went down, and Catherine's familiar whispered in her ear that there were no more questions. "Try to keep up guys! But let me know if you need to take a break. There are a lot of stairs!"

The climb up to the main castle of Ravensburl was not as hard as Beatrice thought it was, looking at it from the courtyard driveway. The path twisted and turned up the side of the mountain, but the well-maintained steps of brick and stone were easy to climb even while carrying her familiar and bags. Behind her, the crowd of first years made their way up in silence — till they got to the third or so switch back up.

"Isn't this a magic school?" The young man with the owl wheezed. The owl's cage banged against his shin with every step, and the backpack he wore looked full and heavy. "There should be a much easier way up to the castle than this!" His griping was met with sounds of tired agreement.

"There is another, easier, and faster way up to the castle, yeah." Catherine said, glancing back at the students. She giggled. "But that's for you guys to find! It's a badly hidden secret, and you should be able to find it on your own within the first week of school maybe. For now though, it's the experience that counts! And the view!"

"The view?" The young man scoffed. "What's so great about the view? It's been ivy and moss on bricks for the past twenty minutes."

Catherine smiled. "When you've got your head down so much, you forget to look around and enjoy where you are."

"Arnold!" one of the other students said, and the young man with the owl looked behind him. As he did, so did the others.

Beatrice gasped.

They were now halfway up the mountain path, and the driveway looked like it was a mile away. From so high up, the students could see down to the city at the base of the mountain and all of its flat, gray, asphalt roads. The buildings looked so small, like nothing more than squat squares of cement. A car sped through the wrought iron gates that they just left, and crunched up the gravel driveway till it came to a stop by the first fountain.

To the right of the gate, the edge of a sprawling forest was no more than a mile away. On the left were fields of crops. And above them, so close now that Beatrice's gasp stuck in her throat, were the rose-colored walls of Ravensburl Academy of Witchcraft. A large tower rose from the western side of the castle, overlooking the keep, main building, and battlements. From where they are by the gate, Beatrice could just about make out the shapes of people walking up and down the battlements, hurrying to and fro. In her arms, Beau squeaked.

Catherine led the way across another courtyard and smaller fountain and stopped by the towering double doors of the Academy. The fountain bore a large statue of a raven at rest, with stone feathers and shining ebony inserts for eyes. Its huge stone head seemed to follow Beatrice and the students as they walked past it. When she turned to look at it, sure that she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, the statue was still and quiet.

The third-year student waved the others over to the doors, with her familiar mimicking the beckoning motion with one paw. "Over here! These are the front doors of Ravensburl. While there are many doors in and out of the castle, you'll be most familiar with these ones. Alright, everyone put your belongings over here." Catherine gestured to the side where the porter from the bus was unloading luggage from what looked like a train car. Tracks ran from it and disappeared over the crest of the cliff.

"How did he get up here so fast?" The nervous girl couldn't help but ask.

Arnold sneered. "Must have been one of those "secret passages." How come we couldn't have just used that? It’s the train, isn't it?"

Catherine didn't reply, she was busy speaking with two wizards that came out to greet them. She spoke quickly and gestured at the assembled crowd and stepped aside. As she did, the two assumed a more formal, leader-like aura than the upperclassman with no shoes did.

"Hello and welcome to Ravensburl Academy of Witchcraft!" the taller of the two said. He was a handsome young man with dark skin and dark braided hair. He beamed at the first years with excitement. "I am Leo, and this is my colleague Ashford." He gestured to his fellow who seemed to shrink away. "Just past these doors will be your home for the next few years. Now, we will be having a wand and familiar ceremony first before the feast. Please leave all your belongings, including familiars in cages, over here by the porter. If you have wands already, please bring them. Your things will be safely brought to your assigned rooms."

"Don't be nervous." Ashford chimed in. He was a lanky, thin man who looked much too nervous himself. "Everyone gets a wand and familiar. Everyone who will be participating in the ceremony please line up here, with me.”

“And everyone who already have wands or familiars or both, here with me!” Leo said, beaming.

After a brief flurry of activity as bags and belongings were left with the porter, Beatrice stroked Beau's leaves soothingly and assured the mandrake that she'll see it later. Clutching her own wand in her hand, she smiled as others began to form two lines before the upperclassmen. There were only three other people in the line with her, standing in front of Leo. One was Arnold, another was the first year with creatures in their hair, and the other was a girl that looked like she had run the entire path up the mountain in a few minutes. She caught her breath, smoothed down her hair, and caught Beatrice’s eye. The two shared a friendly smile, and before she could get a word out, Leo spoke again. “If we’re all set, let’s go!”

They filed through the massive double doors, and Beatrice took her first steps into the Ravensburl Academy of Witchcraft.