The toll chimed for the beginning of everyone’s first class. Passing through the garden and approaching the courtyard was a young man. Unlike the masses who wore standard white-and-gold uniforms, he donned a black uniform with a sword emblem engraved on the back. A chilly stream of air pushed his dark-colored hair back—the surrounding fragrance of flowers drifting past his nostrils. His chrome colored eyes glanced around him at other students eyeing him. He felt indifferent to their gazes and continued to the courtyard.

  The crowds of students hastened to get into the building. His walking slowed when he heard the impact of fists hitting bare against another. It drew him off-trail, bringing him into the gardens near the courtyard.

  “Hand it over, you sack of shit! I don’t care if the first bell rang—you owe her money!” A student said.

  “What? I don’t owe her anything, she said it was on her!” The opposing student said.

  He was surrounded by three others who caged him in, while the first held him by his shirt collar.

  “Lonan, that’s absurd! Why would she ever give a commoner like you anything to begin with!” The one holding his collar said.

  Lonan’s hair was dark, short, and messy, as if he’d just climbed out of bed. He was above average in height, but his frame was much slimmer. His uniform was ruffled with a missing shirt button and streaks of dirt on his pants. Lonan kept his posture steady, eyes glaring at his attacker.

  “What’s happening here?” The chrome-eyed student approached. His voice was mellow like a serene breeze.

  “Cliff, that’s Neo Raithe… That exchange student from Vislinia.” One of them said.

  “Yes, that’s me. So, mind explaining what’s going on here?” Neo said.

  “Just a little shakedown. This poor bastard here thought that he could get out of paying what he owes.” Cliff said.

  “You could’ve just said something to the headmaster, but you’re here punching the life out of him,” Neo said.

  “Mind your business, bud. Just because you’re an exchange student doesn’t mean you can’t get a piece of this, too.” Cliff pushed Lonan aside, pushing his hair back and walking towards Neo. Lonan leaned up against a tree, his breathing ragged, with bruises and lacerations on his face.

  “Cliff, I think we should just go…” One said.

  “I didn’t ask you what you thought,” Cliff replied, sizing Neo up.

  Cliff threw a punch at Neo’s face. Neo’s movements were smooth. He grabbed Cliff’s wrist, pulling him off balance, flipping him over his shoulder, and slamming him into the grass.

  “Ah!” Cliff yelped.

  “Don’t be sad, at least you tried,” Neo said.

  “Screw you, I’m going to tell the headmaster!...” Cliff uttered, shifting in place on the ground before standing.

  “No problem,” Neo replied as the crew of boys ran back towards the courtyard.

  He walked towards Lonan, who was sitting against the tree, clutching his stomach.

  “You look terrible,” Neo said with his eyebrows relaxed.

  “Thanks for not pitying me.” Lonan organized his books that had fallen and put them back into his bag.

  “I’m Neo.” He said, offering his hand.

  “Lonan.” He took his hand and stood.

  “Who were they?” Neo asked.

  “Assholes, that’s who they are. Pulled me off into the garden just to tell me I owe Aephyra money.” Lonan said.

  “Aephyra?... She’s that popular elf girl, right?” Neo asked as he walked with Lonan towards the institute.

  “Technically, she’s known as The Queen Bee. Talked to her during the Ember’s Respite festival.”

  “Right, so… How’s it that today of all days you’re in this situation, then?” Neo asked.

  “I don’t know. Look, we talked, right? Then she said she was enjoying my company and bought me food. I’m not the kind of guy that says no to free food, by the way.” Lonan explained.

  “That might precisely be the problem,” Neo said.

  “We should probably be running to class, don’t you think?... The first toll already went off.” Lonan said.

  “Doesn’t change that, even if we run there, we’ll still be late,” Neo said.

  “Well, I don’t want to be more later,” Lonan said.

  “Take it easy, you got beat up. Go to the healer’s office.” Neo said.

  “Is she even here that early?” Lonan asked.

  “Probably not. Who would expect a fight to happen so early in the morning?” Neo said.

  “I’ll just go see her after, then,” Lonan said.

  They walked into the institute. The hallways were crowded with students running late to their classes.

  “How come everybody’s so late today?...” Lonan asks.

  “Days after the first holiday, Leviara tends to look like this. I think it’s because it’s the last holiday of the year, and people don’t want to go back to work. At least that’s what one of the professors said.” Neo replied.

  “For an exchange student, you know a lot,” Lonan said.

  “I’ve only been here a few months, and this is basic information about Leviara,” Neo said.

  “Basic information, seriously? I’ve been here for a week at best, and pretty often, I still get lost around this place.” Lonan said.

  “I don’t blame you—this school is gigantic. The front of the institute has nothing to do with learning or education, either. It’s meant for people to come and renew their licenses, work, and turn in illegal incantations.” Neo explained.

  “Hold on, there are licenses for incantations?” Lonan asked.

  “You sure you're going to this school?” Neo said.

  “I swear I am!” Lonan replied.

  Nymeria, Yadani, and Vera sat in an empty classroom. The professor hadn’t arrived either.

  “The professor’s not here yet? What kind of rubbish is this? Rubbish, I tell you, rubbish!” Yadani said before putting her head down.

  “Oddly, we arrived early and… We’ve been the only ones here since then,” Nymeria said.

  The classroom began to flood with students, everyone scattering around to find a seat. Shortly after, the professor showed his face. He was an average-sized man with a bald, shiny head and a mutton chop beard. On his middle finger was a bronze ring.

  “Good morning, everyone! I sincerely apologize for my lateness, and I’m sure you all feel the same. Hopefully, the week of Ember Respite’s passing didn’t make you all miserable.” Professor Gildan said.

  “Today, we’ll be studying the various runes and what each color symbolizes! But, I thought, why not introduce a fun little activity on the first day back from the holidays? You all are going to go outside and find runes around the institute, sketch them, label the color of the rune, and bring them back here to analyze them!” Professor Gildan explained.

  “You must find at least four runes, and each must have a different color! With that being said, let’s all head outside!” He finally added.

  Professor Gildan led everyone into the hallways, down the plethora of staircases, past the gardens, and to the cobblestone paths of the front entrance to the institute. Nearby was a crate of monocles sitting on top of a wooden table. Professor Gildan moved towards it.

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  “Looks like it’s all here as planned. Everyone, gather around!” He said.

  “Professor, what’ll we be using these for?” Nymeria asks.

  “Allow me to explain. These monocles are infused directly with an incantation that allows you to make hidden runes visible! Some people are born with the ability to see these runes without the help of gadgets like these, but that is a very rare chance!” He explained.

  “Why would you even want to be able to see hidden runes?” Yadani asked.

  “Because the possible applications of runes are never-ending! We’ll get into that at a later time.” Professor Gildan said.

  Yadani held the monocle, raising her brow.

  “This silly-looking thing is capable of seeing runes?” She said.

  “That’s what he said, Yadani,” Vera replied, putting the monocle on.

  “Whoa… It makes you look rich, Vera.” Yadani said.

  “What about me?” Nymeria asks.

  “Just makes you look more elegant, I’d say. I’m sure it makes me look stupid because I’m a tiefling.” Yadani said.

  “You look fine, don’t say that about yourself, Yadani,” Nymeria said.

  While everyone went through the crate for monocles, Vera’s ears honed in on a conversation between two girls.

  “Did you see how drunk those knights were last night?...” One said.

  “Yeah, it was ludicrous... They drank the town dry and babbled about catching some dragon—how stupid could they be?” The other added.

  A flurry of thoughts swarmed her mind, but she focused her attention back to Yadani and Nymeria. They walked around with the monocles over their eyes, checking out the gardens of the institute for any runes.

  “Hey, so… Have you guys heard anything going around about… A dragon?” Vera asked.

  “Can’t say that I have. Why would there be talk about a dragon?” Yadani said, staring intently at the ground through the monocle.

  “Well, that’s because things are going around about a dragon. You didn’t hear what happened with the knights, did you?” Nymeria said.

  “No, I didn’t. Is the dragon a big one? Like the roaring type?” Yadani asks.

  “I’m sure if it was a big, roaring one, we would know by now,” Nymeria answered.

  “That you would.” A voice called out to them.

  All three looked towards a hooded figure coming out from behind one of the trees.

  “After a while, I started to wonder what lured me here. I think I partially know now.” A purple gaze flickered beneath the hood.

  Vera felt a tight cramp in her stomach as she gazed at the hooded figure.

  “You smell like one of my own… Why’s that?” Enne began to approach her.

  “Hey, back off!” Yadani slipped in front of Vera, clenching her fists.

  “Yes, it would be smart if you took your presence elsewhere,” Nymeria added.

  “I’m not interested in either of you. You, back there with the white hair… Why do you smell like one of my kind?... Like a dragon hybrid?”

  Enne pulled his hood down completely. His skin was as pale as snow, sclera pitch black, and his eyes a deep, unbridled purple. Vera took a few paces back upon seeing his horns.

  “What the… Are you the dragon?” Yadani said.

  “I’m a dragon, but I’m not the one everyone’s been babbling about. I think my initial plan has been… Altered.” He said, putting his hood back over his head.

  “Hey, get away from those students!” Professor Gildan shouted while running towards them. A ring on his finger gleamed with yellow light, shooting forward a translucent barrier at Enne.

  Nymeria grabbed Yadani and Vera, pulling them out of the way.

  Enne’s hand erupted into a mix of dark and purple flames. Pitch-black mana wrapped around his hands, the sound of maniacal whispering rumbling through the area.

  “Oh, great star…!” Professor Gildan noticed the mountain of energy gathering in Enne’s hand.

  Enne blasted forward a giant, purple fireball. It clashed head-on with the barrier, causing a rumbling explosion. The barrier shattered, the fireball exploding into a cyclone of flames with smoke clouding the area.

  Vera’s head spun, and she coughed profusely while lying on the ground. She was inhaling the fumes, and her ears rang endlessly. The impact of both opposing attacks created a vicious blast.

  “Vera! Vera, where are you!” Nymeria’s voice called through the obscuring smoke.

  Nymeria found Vera lying on the ground. Nymeria scooped her up and ran where the smoke began to thin. Outside the zone of smoke was a gathering crowd of students and professors.

  “Aaah! Gods!” Professor Gildan was on the ground, screaming in pain. His right arm and the side of his face had been scorched beyond recognition.

  “Man, that looks bad,” Lonan said.

  “We need to get him help, now!” Nymeria shouted, resting Vera down.

  “What happened here? Did one of the runes activate?” Another professor approached. She had long ginger-colored hair, deep green eyes, and freckles coating her face. She took something out of the inside of her coat. It was a small vial with a blue liquid inside. She pulled off the cork and poured the ointment onto Professor Gildan’s burns. His face tightened with a grimacing expression, strikes of pain swarming his senses.

  “Oh, thank God you were nearby, Kai’La…” Professor Gildan’s breaths were labored, his forehead damp with sweat.

  “What happened here?” Kai’La asked.

  “A man, he was hooded… I don’t know what his intentions were, but he had gotten close to the students. That’s when I tried to use my containment incantation on him, but.. His power… It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before—he summoned a giant ball of purple fire!” Professor Gildan said.

  “... It must be an illegal incantation. Okay, at least all of the students are safe…” Professor Kai’La said.

  “All students, I’m requesting that you ALL go back to your dormitories until further notice!” Professor Kai’La stated.

  Vera finally pulled herself together, sitting up. Yadani and Nymeria were on the ground with her.

  “Welcome back! I thought you were dead for a second,” Yadani said.

  “Pay her no mind. How’re you feeling, Vera?” Nymeria asked.

  “I’m fine… I just have a bit of a headache right now.” Vera replied.

  “If the condition of your headache worsens, we’ll get you some medicine. For now, we need to go back to our dormitories.” Nymeria stood.

  Yadani helped Vera to her feet. They walked past the gardens, looking at the burning embers of the residual flames—it still burned fiercely.

  “We all saw what he was, right?” Vera asked.

  “Yes… He was a dragon hybrid. Is Professor Kai’La still around? We shouldn’t keep this to ourselves.” Nymeria said.

  “Think I saw her heading towards the main building. Should we go?” Yadani asked

  “Absolutely, there’s no reason to delay,” Nymeria replied.

  “Go without me. I think it’s best if I go back to the dorm and get some rest…” Vera placed her hand on her forehead, rubbing in circles.

  “We’ll be fast. But we have to talk after, Vera.” Nymeria and Yadani headed towards the institute’s front entrance.

  Now alone, Vera continued toward the student entrance.