Chapter 30: Induction Part 1: Shared Dorms

The next day arrived, and the excitement of getting inducted into an academy today compensated for the dreadful night Aiden had endured. In fact, he was in high spirits.

The family and Aiden had breakfast as usual at their table, and Alaric’s daughters remained ever lively with their questions and conversations.

Soon after, Aiden was dressed and ready to leave for the Induction Ceremony and, consequently, to continue his life in Xathia.

He approached the table where the family still sat and spoke to them all.

“Alaric, I want to say thank you. You and your family have shown me kindness far better than even my real family,” Aiden said.

Nessa and Elara smiled, and Alaric stood up with a big grin on his face, then stretched forth his arm toward Aiden.

Aiden stretched his arm toward Alaric as well with a smile, and they both exchanged a forearm handshake.

“Don’t be a stranger, posh lad,” Alaric said, in a rather kind tone.

Aiden nodded, then crouched down so that his eyes could meet directly with Kira and Mira, who had sad faces and knew this might be a longer goodbye than just for a few hours.

“Will you be back?” Mira asked, sounding really sad.

Aiden patted them both slightly on their hair, then answered Mira, “I will, and I’ll tell you both several magical stories.”

They both rushed in to embrace him, much to his surprise, and then he embraced them back before standing up.

Aiden then took one last bow and left the house, walking through Alaric’s yard to head outside.

Alaric’s daughters both ran out to see the last of Aiden as they waved toward him.

He turned back with a smile and waved at them too, before leaving for Oakenheart.

….

Aiden eventually reached the academy’s grand entrance, though he was catching his breath since he had walked a long way to get there.

People were arriving one by one, nobles and commoners alike, and soon the grand hall was filled once more. Only this time it was just the new entries.

No guild captains or already recruited mages were present. There was the regular chatter between pairs of people, and then the grand entrance opened once more.

Kayden and Amelia, children of Lord Oberon, had stepped in, and they had this commanding presence.

Kayden had light blue hair with an expressionless face. His sister had black hair and the same expressionless expression.

Frankly, regardless of how well they dressed in royal-looking attire and how attractive they were, they really could have used a smile.

The brief quiet of the hall given the grand entrance of the young lord and lady quickly returned to chatter again.

From the look of it, the halls had people of different ages. There were people who were in their thirties and people as young as ten. Ten was the minimum age for entry in Xathia, but it was still mostly teenagers present.

However, the chatter didn’t last long as Grand Magus Thamoryn stepped in.

Everyone’s attention turned toward her, and she had a smile that was somehow both devious and welcoming, it was hard to tell which.

She had also entered with a servant woman following behind her, who stopped close to the entrance.

Thamoryn began, “Welcome, you lot. Some of you look really packed,” she said as she tilted her head slightly to see several boxes, though mostly belonging to nobles.

Most commoners had a small canvas bag held in their hands or supported on their shoulder and back.

“Starting tonight and for the next passing day, I will personally be putting you through a few things you must understand about being a mage of Xathia,” Thamoryn began.

There was a brief pause, and she added, “And at the end of tomorrow, there’ll be a demonstration of your magic. After that, guild captains will make selections. Those who received special invitations are expected to have made a decision by then.”

Everyone listened attentively as she spoke. There was not a single sound.

She continued, “Regarding your stay here, there’s a designated and separate part of the building just dedicated to new entries. There are dormitory rooms available to accommodate everyone. Yes, please note that within Oakenheart, there’s no such thing as class or privilege. The only thing that differentiates you here are mage ranks, and right now, you are all Academy Level Mages. What I’m trying to say is, disregard any idea that you may be staying in the same room as your friend, that will most likely not be the case.”

At that point, some murmurs resumed. Of course, only a certain set of people hated this idea the most: the children of nobles.

“That’s enough,” Thamoryn said firmly while tapping her staff on the ground, and the halls went quiet again.

She continued, “Behind me is Madam Margaret. She is the Dorm Keeper, and at the end of my speech, you are to go in a single file with her. She will decide who gets what room and roommate. I expect you all to treat her with respect.”

“Ah yes, lest I forget, once you have all settled in, you are free to roam around the Academy Wing as you see fit. There’s even a library if you wish. However, you are not allowed to leave this wing meant for you and stray into any of the guild wings, not until you’re a guild initiate.”

There was a brief pause, then she asked, “Are there any questions?”

Either they feared her or understood her clearly, because whichever it was, no one indicated having a question.

“Good. Now, one by one, go with the Dorm Keeper,” she said as she gestured toward Margaret.

Margaret immediately walked toward another entrance, and one by one the new entries started following behind her.

Thamoryn, who now stood to the side to give way, also paid keen attention to the new mages walking through.

She noticed when Aiden walked past her, and noticed when the elven girl, Laela, did the same. Then finally she noticed the boy with the hood.

She spoke in such a tone that it momentarily halted them all: “You with the hood, come this way,” she said as she gestured with her index finger.

Ambrose had no choice but to oblige, as he knew he had been caught.

Thamoryn had just completed the first task in her duty to Lord Oberon; she had accounted for the three entries of special interest to the Lord.

The others continued on their way to the dorms.

…

Slowly everyone walked through a long staircase until they all arrived at a huge hallway. To both sides of the hallway were several doors with keys at their knobs.

They had been made to stop there briefly as Madam Margaret wanted to speak with more clarity about how the dorm situation would work.

She began, “Welcome to Oakenheart, young mages. This is going to be a shared dormitory…”

Then the noise began, mostly from the girls who definitely did not fancy the idea.

Some of the teenage boys, however, started showing creepy smiles on their faces, which genuinely did not help the situation either.

“Please hear me completely…” she said in a rather kind tone, and they quieted down.

“It is a shared dormitory but not shared rooms. You will only be sharing a room with a person of the same gender.”

There was some relief on the faces of the girls who had concerns.

“Each room has provided space for two people. There are towels that have been laid on the prepared beds. There’s another room within, with a privy for your convenience.”

That was an awkward moment, and it was written on some of their faces.

“Now down the hallways are four bathing rooms, two on the opposite side of the other two, and they have been marked appropriately to indicate which genders use which,” Margaret continued.

However, at that point, a certain noble’s daughter who couldn’t hold it in anymore burst out, “We have to take our baths near these boys?”

“Some of them are even men,” another female voice added

The murmurs from the girls began again. To some, it felt like this definitely wasn’t what they had bargained for.

Margaret tried to explain again: “Please understand that this is only temporary, until you all become proper initiates and head over to your respective guilds, where there’s more privacy. Moreover, any violation of privacy from either gender would result in immediate expulsion from the academy and a one-year ban from applying again.”

There were several discontented sighs and hisses, but that was better than nothing.

“And finally, now I’ll be picking two people randomly to become occupants of these rooms.”

There was a brief pause, and then one by one she randomly started pointing at the new mages. “You there, and you, please step forward.”

Two boys, one noble and one commoner, stepped out, and she gestured toward a room on her left. Both went in, the noble boy more reluctantly, with a discontented expression on his face.

Then she pointed again, this time at two girls. “You, and you there, please step forward.”

The girls, both of different social classes, stepped forward, and she gestured toward the right and the opposite room from the one she had just indicated for the boys.

Both girls then went in.

Margaret took a step backward, positioning herself between two opposing doors; the next rooms after the first two.

She gestured for the mages to move forward toward her so she could have a clearer view of those she was selecting.

The process continued like that, with the Dorm Keeper pointing out two random people of mostly opposing social classes to put together in these rooms.

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