Avarice Twilight

by R. A Davidson

  Aryn falls to his knees, gasping for air, as if he's being strangled.

  "H-how dare you touch my ears, f-f-for someone like you to do that," The Princess sputters through tears.

  Blood starts to fill Aryn's eyes as I step in to intervene.

  "Please stop this!" a girl yells as she rushes to Aryn's side. "You'll kill him if you do not stop, please!" the girl begs.

  Suddenly the front doors swing open with an echoing thud.

  "Stop this at once!" a voice booms out like thunder, rattling one's bones.

  Figures emerge from the entrance, twenty in all.

  "There shall be no fighting within the school grounds," the old man in the front declares. "Young man, cease your spell at once of face the consequences of disobeying me," the old man orders.

  The elf guard's spell stops immediately, and Aryn falls on his face motionless.

  "Oh no!" the girl gasps.

  She cradles Aryn in her arms and puts her hand over his chest. A white light emits from her hand; it's almost blinding, yet I can feel its warmth embracing me.

  As soon as the light fades, Aryn lunges forward with a gasp.

  "You really got your ass handed to you Aryn," I state as I step towards them.

  The old man clears his throat. "I am Headmaster Regin. The esteemed people at my sides are the teachers of this Academy," he booms.

  He steps to the top of the walkway.

  "You will all be put through a screening that will reveal what your magic affinities and aptitudes are. After that, you will fight in matches to display how you use your magic and combat prowess. But before that, you will take a written test so we may see what knowledge you possess," Regin declares.

  The people start to form in an orderly fashion at the entrance.

  I look at the girl. "Tell me who you are… and why you would do that?" I demand.

  "Oh, it's you," Aryn says as he gets up. "Are you here to take the exam too?" he asks while dusting himself off.

  Suddenly, The Princess slaps Aryn.

  "Do not think that you are forgiven for what you did!" The Princess yells with a red face.

  She storms off, but not before staring daggers at Aryn. Aryn just laughs; as usual, he takes serious situations as jokes.

  "Um," the girl who healed Aryn whispers.

  I turn towards her. "Going to tell me what you want?" I question.

  "Uh, uh...my name is Asteria Marchand," she says in as stern of a voice she can muster.

  Aryn steps towards her. "She's the cute girl I helped last night, the one I told you about," he explains.

  Does she intend to repay a debt or something? If Aryn's not careful, she may take advantage of him.

  "You saved my life. My father always says that one should always repay a debt. Seeing as I own nothing equal to my life, I give you my life from this day forth," Asteria declares.

  Many eyes are looking at us; not surprising seeing as someone just offered her life to Aryn.

  Aryn starts chuckling as he puts his hand on Asteria's head. "I don't need your life, already having a hard time dealing with mine," he responds with a chuckle.

  I can see a bit of remorse on his face.

  Asteria stomps her foot. "No, this is the decision I made, and I will stand by my choice!" she barks back.

  Aryn crosses his arms and thinks for a bit.

  "Well, I don't want your life, but you can be friends with my brother and me," he says.

  Asteria seems reassured. "Fine, I have no qualms being friends with you, but you can still count on me for anything at any moment," she states.

  I don't know why she wants to be involved with us, but I can see boldness in her eyes.

  Suddenly, we hear three sharp claps that echo around us.

  I turn around as Regin gets everyone's attention.

  "You who are participating in this year's exam are to make your way into the commons. You will then be separated into groups assigned to a classroom. Once you enter the classroom, the written test will be administered. In the end, when all are finished, you will make your way to the commons to see your ranking. After each part of the exam, your ranking will change. This ranking will show us and you who are most excellent in the group. The teachers will then pick those they want to teach. Unfortunately, those not chosen will have to leave the premises and wait for the next exam," Regin explains.

  The crowd starts moving into the commons. Aryn grabs Asteria and me.

  "Well, this is it; I hope we get the same group. Let's do our best to get through this, hopefully get the top rankings, and maybe have some fun doing it," he says with a grin.

  He puts his fist in the middle of us, then he looks at me, so I put mine on top to please him.

  "Well, come on Asteria," Aryn says.

  She shyly puts her fist in too.

  We stand there for a moment before heading inside. I hope this will be done quickly.

  4

  ASTERIA

  "Come on Asteria," Aryn says as he starts walking with Barin.

  We start following at the end of the line to the commons. The whole time Aryn's grinning, while Barin just looks annoyed. I wonder if they are siblings; they have similar facial features and seem to have a unique chemistry together. Though I just met them, they seem to be polar opposites in terms of their personalities.

  I wonder what kind of person these two are. I don't think Aryn's a bad person. After all, he did save me and was rather kind-hearted while he carried me home. Now that I think about it… I think that was the first time someone has held me in their arms like a princess.

  I feel my cheeks blush.

  After I spoke with Father about what happened, we decided I must repay him. I was fully prepared to give Aryn my life and let him give me any role he saw fit, but he simply asked for my friendship. I do hope my first impressions about him were right.

  "Hey," Aryn says as he startles me with a thump.

  "You seem to space out a lot. Maybe you lack the intelligence to comprehend the situation," Barin says with an annoyed look.

  I look around and see that we're in a classroom.

  "D-did we already get sorted into groups?" I ask in a panic.

  Barin sighs as he goes to sit down.

  "Yeah, but you were too busy thinking, so I've been guiding you with us," Aryn says gleefully.

  I just now realize he's holding my hand.

  "Let's get our seats," he says as he pulls me along.

  "Attention!" the instructor declares as she walks in.

  She appears to be around my father's age and holds herself with much esteem, like an instructor should.

  "I will be the administrator of the written exam. Once you finish, you are free to roam the commons," the instructor says.

  The exam packets are passed out and we start. It seems to be questions about the history of magic, the different magics, magical applications, and magical creatures.

  We start the exam when instructed to. As I mark my questions, I'll periodically look over at Barin and Aryn. Barin seems to be going through the questions even faster than me. Aryn, on the other hand, seems to not completely understand most of the questions.

  After some time has passed, everyone finishes the exam and is in the commons. "So, how do you think you faired?" I ask Barin and Aryn.

  "The test was too easy," Barin scoffs.

  Aryn chuckles. "I didn't get most of it, really. Hopefully, the next tests are more straightforward," he says with a grin.

  There's a loud clap above the noise of the crowd. Headmaster Regin is on the stage. "The wall behind me will now show the initial ranks of the examinees," he states.

  Suddenly all of the ranks appear on the wall behind the headmaster. I start looking for my name; I just hope that I did as good as I feel I did.

  "Wow, Asteria, you're eighth!" Aryn exclaims.

  I read down the list until I come across my name; I made it into the top ten out of everyone.

  "Nothing to be too proud of," Barin says.
<
br />   I glare at him then look for his position. I spot his name…he's first. "You're actually smart then?" I ask astonished. Barin just glares at me.

  "It would appear that there is someone here who may rival me," someone behind us says.

  I turn and see a beautiful elf.

  "Hey Isla, see that you got second," Aryn says, walking towards her.

  One of the elves stand in front of him. "It is Princess Aelfdene, you insolent pleb" the elf barks.

  The guard tries to punch Aryn, but he ducks and makes his way towards Princess Isla.

  For some reason, Princess Isla looks hesitant as Aryn walks closer to her. I guess it would be expected for royalty, especially an elven royal, to not want someone of a lower social class to try and touch them.

  "Do not come near me!" Princess Isla shrieks.

  Aryn stops walking; he seems surprised to hear her scream. Princess Isla's face is red too. Is she acting this way due to Aryn touching her ears? Aryn must have done something serious by doing so, to cause Princess Isla to behave so.

  Princess Isla composes herself. "Unlike this trash, it would seem you two are rather intelligent," she says, looking at Barin and me.

  I have to say, Princess Isla seems to be a remarkable person. She's the second smartest person and is such a beauty as well.

  "Well, I only got eighth, so I have room to improve," I nervously say.

  "I do not believe we have met." Princess Isla says, looking at me.

  "U-uh, my name is Asteria Marchand. It is an honor to meet you," I stutter.

  I curtsy. Am I doing this right? My father always said do this when meeting royalty, but it feels weird.

  "Please, there is no need to be so formal here," Princess Isla tells me with a smile. "Forgive me, but the name Marchand sounds so familiar to me. Is your family of importance in this country?" Princess Isla asks me.

  "My family is that which runs the merchant guild as thus, my father is the current guild master," I respond.

  I would have preferred not letting too many people know about my family. I don't like it when people try to get close to me to get good deals.

  "I see. Honestly, I am glad to meet another girl from a worthy family," Princess Isla says with a little zeal.

  "Looks like you got last, Aryn," Barin interrupts the conversation.

  I look at the very end of the list and see Aryn's name. He really got the last place out of a hundred people. I figured surely he would know something despite seeming so carefree.

  Princess Isla laughs, "I am not surprised that someone like you is last. It would seem you do not deserve to be in the same spot as us," she says, full of glee.

  Aryn looks uninterested as he yawns. "Yeah, I only know a bit about magic and the different beings of the land," he responds.

  I don't understand why he is so calm; he is honestly the least educated person here. I can't believe someone like him saved me, and I said I would give him my life.

  I feel my face turn red from embarrassment.

  Princess Isla walks up to me and takes hold of my hand.

  "I do hope those of us at the top will be able to get along," she says with a little smile.

  I wonder if she actually means that. I suppose, it wouldn’t be too bad to be acquainted with a princess.

  "I do, as well," I respond to Princess Isla.

  She lets go of my hand as she walks up to Barin.

  "I should thank you for holding the top place for me. I will take it at the end of all this," she declares.

  Barin just looks down at her with a grimace.

  Princess Isla turns. "The same goes to you Barin; if you stay within the top, then I welcome you as a companion," she says as she leaves with her guards.

  She seems to be making rounds and talking to those in the top ten, including us.

  Headmaster Regin returns to the stage. "As you can see, some of you did exceptionally well on the test, while others did rather poorly," he states.

  The list behind him goes away, and a large crystal is brought out.

  "You will now come up I order of your rankings. You will state your magic attributes and abilities. You will then place your hand on this crystal, which will show your magical capacity, how strong your magic currently is, and your aptitude to acquire more techniques," Headmaster Regin explains.

  Everyone gets quiet as the crystal is set up. Barin is the first called as he makes his way on stage. I wonder what type of magic the two of them use; maybe they can use some unique magic?

  Barin gets to the crystal.

  "I can use fire, earth, air, and water magic. I'm also well versed in incantations," he tells the teachers.

  Usually, people can only use one to two types of magic at the most. For him to be able to use four is unheard of. His magic is only the most basic type of magic, but still, it is incredible.

  Barin is instructed to place his hand on the crystal. Once he puts his hand on the crystal, the whole stage immediately lights up. The crystal looks like a beautiful prism radiating an array of colors.

  Barin removes his hand when Headmaster Regin signals him to.

  Headmaster Regin stands up. "It would appear you have a seemingly endless supply of magic. Not only that, but all four of your magics are near the level of being blessings. You also have an aptitude beyond what any of the teachers here have seen," he finishes.

  The crowd starts to murmur in response to Headmaster Regin just said. It's easy to understand why… Barin is the same age as us, yet he is already on par with the greatest mages in the kingdom.

  Barin makes his way off the stage as members of the crowd go to talk to him or make a path for him to go by. He ignores them all and walks back to Aryn and me.

  Princess Isla has made it on stage to the crystal.

  "My pristine magic is to manipulate all metal. I am also skilled at enchantments and incantations," Princess Isla tells the teachers.

  Headmaster Regin tells her to put her hand on the crystal. When Princess Isla puts her hand on the crystal, the stage lights up with a silver light.

  Princess Isla is instructed to remove her hand as Headmaster Regin stands up.

  "You have a vast supply of magic, and your magic is that of a master mage. Your aptitude for learning is rather high as well," Headmaster Regin announces.

  Princess Isla leaves the stage to be swarmed by members of the crowd.

  The next few candidates are average, especially after Barin and Princess Isla were the first two called up.

  It’s my turn to go up. As I walk up to the crystal and teachers, I can feel the pressure of everyone's eyes looking at me.

  "I specialize in healing magic and recovery magic. Uh, I am also good with incantations," I say as confidently as I can.

  As instructed, I put my hand on the crystal. Immediately it lights up, the so bright that it blinds me. When my eyes adjust to the light, I can see a very soft, light green with gold swirling in the middle.

  Headmaster Regin tells me to remove my hand as he stands.

  "You have a vast supply of magic, and you have an average learning aptitude. It would seem, though, that your healing magic is a blessing. You are an extraordinary young lady to have a blessing and one that heals injuries at that," Headmaster Regin announces.

  Did he say that I have a blessing? This is incredible; I never imagined that I would be so lucky.

  I make my way down the stage while everyone stares at me with amazement. I ignore them and make my way back to Aryn, who's grinning sincerely at me.

  "You're pretty amazing, huh?" he chuckles.

  Princess Isla approaches me and grabs my hand again.

  "I just knew you were going to be someone excellent. I do hope that we can be friends," she says with joy.

  She genuinely appears to want to be friends with me. Considering the only friends I have made today are Barin and Aryn, I think I would much enjoy it.

  "I hope we can too," I reply with a smile.

  Aryn starts to walk over to talk to us
; Princess Isla steps back as her guards appear to stop Aryn.

  "A little advice, from one friend to another, try to steer clear of people like him," Princess Isla states, glaring at Aryn. "People pathetic like him tend to surround themselves with those of us that are superior, to leech off of us," she remarks with a bit of disdain.

  She smiles at me, then proceeds to walk off.

  Aryn just laughs it off; he seems to be such an odd one.

  The day proceeds with the candidates going up and repeating the process. The only ones who were worth remembering were Princess Isla's two guards, and some arrogant guy who had magic that eroded everything. Finally, Aryn is called to the stage. He casually strolls up the stairs and to the crystal.

  "I can use fire," Aryn states.

  Is that it… not even enchantments… or any incantations?

  "Oh, I'm also pretty strong," he adds, while flexing his arm.

  Aryn is then instructed to put his hand on the crystal. When he does, only a dim light appears on the stage. Looking at the crystal, I can see a deep red light… like the color of blood. The closer to the center of the light I look, the darker it gets until it's black. All of a sudden, it seems like the center becomes even darker than black. I feel as if I can't look away from the crystal; I feel the sensation of intense heat overtaking me.

  Suddenly, Barin puts his hand on my shoulder and I come back to my senses.

  Headmaster Regin tells Aryn to remove his hand as he stands up.

  "Your capacity is severely limited, and your magic is subpar… to say the least. You have a low aptitude for learning any abilities as well. However, it would appear that your body has permanently been enhanced to its limits," Headmaster Regin announces.

  Aryn makes way down the stage as people start to snicker. He makes his way back to us, unfazed by the crowd.

  Headmaster Regin makes his way to the front of the stage, "I will now show the current rankings after this exam," he states.

  Behind him, the list reappears with our ranks. Barin is still first and Princess Isla second… but somehow, I am in third place. I guess having a blessing can really boost one's position. I look for Aryn and, as I assumed, he is still last.