by Weiqi Wang
Soarame walked along the street trying to find the right direction. Strangely, the street seemed to be changing all the time, so Soarame found himself back at a point he had passed before.
‘It’s a maze? Really?’ Soarame muttered out loud.
‘What are you looking for, boy?’ A voice came from nowhere and scared Soarame.
‘Hi, err…’ Soarame was trying to find a proper way to reply. ‘Sir, I’m a new student reporting in.’
‘Are you? Let me see… Alright, you look fine.’ the voice replied after seeming to evaluate Soarame from an unknown perspective. ‘Okay, this way, then.’ Following the voice, a tree grew out from the soil beside the road, with a sign showing the direction Soarame needed to go in.
‘Wow.’ Soarame had expected to see some unusual things here, but still he was amazed. He approached the tree and touched it; it felt completely normal. That is to say, it was indeed a tree growing in front of his eyes from age zero to maturity.
‘Admission Centre — Entry Test.’ Soarame read out the sign. ‘That’s exactly what I want. Thank you, sir.’
‘You are welcome, and good luck with the test.’ The voice replied. The next second, the tree was still there, but the sign on it had vanished.
‘Wait, the sign just disappeared?’ Soarame couldn’t help asking.
‘Yes. It’s a maze, so we only allow students and staff in.’ The voice replied. ‘If you are one of them, I will guide you into the right area of the campus.’
‘So what happens if someone sneaks in?’ Soarame was thinking about Deltaley.
‘That wouldn’t be nice, would it?’ The voice sounded a little surprised. ‘It has never happened, but if it does one day, I don’t mind keeping him here for a couple of days.’
‘Wow…’ Soarame was surprised. ‘So you are the guide of the school? Without your guidance no one can get in?’
‘I’m the security of the school. So yes, no one gets in if I say no.’ The voice explained. ‘My name is Chelonad. If you pass the entry test, you can call my name any time you need help.’
‘Thank you Chelonad, my name is Soarame.’ Soarame was happy to have the help. ‘Are you around? How can I see you?’
‘You won’t see me, Soarame.’ Chelonad sounded like an old man. ‘If you do see me one day that means something really bad has happened.’
‘Okay...’ Soarame wasn’t sure what Chelonad meant exactly by that, but he was amazed by Chelonad’s words as he continued towards the admission centre, imagining all kinds of possibilities as to what Chelonad might look like. Soon enough, he reached a castle — the admission centre. While Soarame was enjoying the look of the castle, he quickly found that there was no door.
‘Chelonad?’ Soarame asked the air. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘No need to call Chelonad, come on in.’ Soarame was expecting Chelonad’s voice, but another sounded instead. The next second, a swirl of air revealed a door to the castle — well, it wasn’t really a door; it was actually a magic tunnel.
Soarame walked into it with eyes wide open and alert. Inside the castle there was a giant hall. Soarame made his way to the centre of the hall, and was now facing a handsome man in a green cloak. The man had beautiful long blonde hair and charming crystal-blue eyes, making people like him instantly upon first seeing him. There was one special thing that attracted Soarame’s attention — the ears of this man looked longer than a normal person’s. Even his long hair couldn’t completely cover the upper tips of his ears.
‘Hello my little friend, my name is Aertiuno. It’s nice to meet you.’ Aertiuno looked kind and gentle. Looking into Soarame’s eyes, he smiled. ‘May I ask what your name is and how old you are?’
‘Soarame Jadeking, I’m twelve.’ Soarame answered right away, but only after he finished did he realise that he was not in control of his response. It felt to Soarame that it was Aertiuno who made him speak and tell the truth, rather than Soarame himself wanting to speak!
That was a really weird feeling. Soarame was a little nervous because he began to doubt this man in front of him. Could he have the power to manipulate people’s thoughts? Thanks to Scankeen, Soarame had got to hear about this kind of power and knew that it was of a very rare kind; yet the first person he met in the Institute of Libral was actually capable of this.
‘Very well, thank you Soarame.’ Aertiuno nodded. ‘So, what’s your best practice in magic so far?’
‘I…’ This time Soarame was prepared and he noticed a captivating pulse that was hard to describe, trying to make him talk and tell the truth. Trying hard to suppress the pulse, Soarame got back control of his own mind and said. ‘I am gifted in Lightning and Water, but I’m new.’
‘Oh?’ Aertiuno was surprised to see that Soarame was able to conquer his persuasive whisper, a unique type of mind-control ability. He evaluated Soarame carefully up and down. ‘That’s it?’
‘I can sense a bit of Earth and Light, but not as much.’ Soarame answered. He had promised Scankeen to keep the secret of Wind, so he would.
‘Okay, we will see that together right now.’ Aertiuno pointed at a crystal ball beside him. ‘Inject all the magic elements that you can summon into this crystal ball — as much as you can.’
A magic-gift test? Soarame was relieved, as he had lots of experience at this. However, the difficult part would be trying to exclude the Wind elements while summoning other kinds. But for Soarame, that was still doable. After the test was done, Aertiuno was looking at a crystal ball, full of purple and blue dots, mixed with a small portion of yellow and white ones.
‘Very well, you passed.’ Aertiuno was impressed because Soarame’s gift in Lightning was actually better than he thought. ‘You are very talented in Lightning, with a “superior” level of gift, seconded by Water with “capable” level of gift… Hmm, that’s very lucky for you.’
‘Lucky?’ Soarame wondered.
‘Well, you may not know this, but some magic lineages, such as Lightning and Fire, are hard to practice for a beginner.’ Aertiuno said. ‘But if one has another lineage to practice before them, that will make it much easier and safer. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you start with Water magic and take your time on Lightning.’
Soarame nodded, as Scankeen had told him the same thing.
‘You said you are new to magic, so I suggest you start from Grade 1 in the Water Department. Take this Libral Emblem; this is your identifier as a student.’ Aertiuno gave Soarame a small device. ‘Besides the department, you also need to apply for a college.’
‘A college?’
‘Yes, the college is independent from the department and your magic gifts. Take it as a place for making friends and having fun.’ Aertiuno usually didn’t talk this much, but he found Soarame special due to his immunity against his persuasive whisper; so he tried to explain the basics. ‘When you get out, just ask Chelonad for directions. He will guide you to the right place.’
Soarame followed the instructions and exited the castle. He looked around, but didn’t see anything or anyone, so he tried to talk to a tree in front of him. ‘Chelonad, can you hear me?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Chelonad’s voice sounded soon enough. ‘Why are you facing a tree?’
‘Err… Where should I be facing?’ Soarame asked back.
‘Never mind.’ Chelonad sounded amused. ‘How can I help you, Soarame?’
‘Do you remember my name because we just talked, or do you remember everyone’s name here?’ Soarame decided to ask this first.
‘I remember names. They are easy.’
‘Wow… I wish I could do that.’ Soarame was amazed. ‘I always find names so hard to remember, and I was told there are thousands of students in the institute, is that right?’
‘3,101 students and 68 teachers. Is this what you called me for?’
‘No, I need to apply for a college.’ Soarame said. ‘Can you guide me where to go?’
‘I can, but isn’t there a sign just behind you?’ Chelonad answered.<
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‘Oops, I’m sorry.’ Soarame looked back and saw the sign with “College Application” written on it. ‘Aertiuno told me to ask you for help, so I didn’t pay attention.’
‘I knew it!’ Chelonad sounded like he was laughing. ‘That guy is so bad at directions that he had to lock himself inside the castle and assume other people to be as silly as himself.’
‘Really?’ Soarame was surprised. ‘He looks pretty smart.’
‘Smart at anything but directions.’ Chelonad answered. ‘Let me tell you a funny story and you’re not gonna believe it…’
‘Soarame, stop talking to that odd man and go mind your own business!’ Aertiuno’s voice passed through the castle. ‘Don’t you have a college application to worry about?’
Soarame giggled, yet he had to run towards the college application centre before Chelonad’s story began. The college application centre was not hard to find, so Soarame arrived without a problem. Unlike the test centre, there were quite a few boys and girls of Soarame’s age here, queuing, each holding a piece of parchment — obviously, they were all new students applying for colleges. There were also several older ones maintaining order; some of them were explaining things to the younger ones.
Soarame was so excited to see others of his age, and was wondering how to say “hello” while approaching the crowd. Just then, there came a soft and delightful voice from behind him. ‘Hi there, are you here for a college application?’
Soarame turned around and saw a teenage girl dressed in an elegant light blue gown, with long graceful dark-blue hair, walking towards him. The girl had a pretty face, limpid eyes and looked slightly older than Soarame. She looked at Soarame with a sweet smile. ‘I’m Dileys, may I help you?’
‘Hi… I’m… Err… Soarame… nice to meet you.’ Soarame seldom found himself afraid of strangers, so he didn’t know why he was suddenly shy to talk to this nice-looking girl — he didn’t realise that this might be one of the few girls he had ever talked to. ‘Yes, emm… I was told… told that I need to find a college.’
‘Sure, here’s a list with colleges to choose from. You can pick three in the order of your preference.’ After Soarame’s fumbling replies, Dileys thought the boy might have language problems, so she spoke more slowly to help him understand. She then gave Soarame a piece of parchment together with a big warm smile. ‘Take your time, and feel free to ask me questions.’
‘Thank you!’ Soarame noticed that the nice girl suddenly slowed down her speech, although he didn’t know why. ‘But I… I actually don’t know… what college to apply for.’
‘You don’t?’ Dileys was a little surprised. ‘Your parents didn’t give you suggestions?’
‘Well…’ Soarame was not sure how to put this. ‘It’s a long story.’ Soarame was not sure why Scankeen didn’t tell him about all this — maybe because this was his last test?
‘Okay, don’t panic. I’m here to help.’ Dileys checked Soarame’s emblem. ‘Water department? Plus Lightning, but not activated yet… So you have gifts in Lightning, but are only allowed to learn Water magic for now?’
‘Yes, is that… okay?’ Soarame sensed a change in Dileys reaction.
‘Ah, of course, it’s good. I’m a student of the Water Department too!’ Dileys was actually very happy. ‘It’s only that most students in Water are girls; or I should say there are almost no boys. But no worries, you are most welcome to join!’
Soarame was just about to ask why they were all girls, when he heard a harsh voice. ‘A boy in Water? Ha-ha… Let me have a look!’
Soarame raised his head to find a tall boy walking towards him, looking at him with contempt. At the same time, everyone else looked over, curious about what was going on. Dileys stepped before Soarame and yelled at the boy. ‘Casavin, mind your own business!’
The tall boy, Casavin, didn’t really care what Dileys said and walked over to Soarame, laughing. ‘My name is Casavin, what’s yours? You know what… it doesn’t matter. I’ll just call you Water Boy!’ Just before Soarame could answer, Casavin waved his hand and said. ‘You’re probably the only boy in Water this year.’
Grabbing Soarame’s emblem from Dileys, Casavin sneered. ‘Water with a “capable” gift? You do know that’s the minimum requirement of this school, right?’ In the Institute of Libral, “capable” actually means “common”, but the school chose the wording that way so that it sounds better.
‘Go away Casavin, no one needs you here!’ Dileys grabbed Soarame’s emblem back. Giving the emblem back to Soarame, Dileys said gently. ‘Soarame, ignore him and keep this emblem with you, okay? It’s your identifier in school so don’t let anyone take it.’
Soarame nodded while Casavin laughed aloud by his side. ‘Ha-ha…a Water Boy, who wants his emblem anyway?’
‘Shut up!’ Dileys was mad. ‘Casavin, you are jealous because you can’t practise Water. I’m sorry you don’t have the gift!’
‘Whoops, you are sorry? I’m not.’ Casavin giggled. ‘I don’t blame you for protecting him — he’s probably the only hope of Water, with his “capable” gift!’
‘Casavin, what’s wrong with Water? Are you saying Water is weak?’ Soarame was by no means happy; but he smelled something tricky, so he bore with his temper and asked as everyone was giggling. Strangely enough, after Soarame’s question, everyone went silent.
Soarame didn’t realise that his question was actually a solid one. In Soarame’s opinion, water can put out fire and that’s just the way it is; however, in the magic world, it’s actually the opposite. When water meets fire, fire may vanish and water vaporizes, true. But the point is that water does not cause as much immediate damage as fire, and that counts for a lot in magic battles. Think about it — when two fight, one gets burnt while the other one only gets wet, who wins?
Therefore, Water magic could only compete with Fire when at a higher level — when it upgraded to Ice magic and countered Fire with its freezing capacity. That said, in the institute, where most students were at a lower level, not many had the power to do that.
Hearing Soarame’s loud questioning, many new students started whispering to each other —
‘I heard that Water is the poorest magic for attacking, and works best at nourishing and healing, so only girls like it.’
‘That’s right, how could Water compete with the others? Especially Fire, it’s far more powerful!’
‘Light is even better! It’s the best at mind attacks and also great at healing!’
‘No way, Wind is the best! Do you know how much damage windblades can do? Plus, it has the Flying spell!’
‘Nah-nah, Darkness is the best! With a shadowcape spell one can be invisible. How can you attack someone invisible?’
Hearing the discussions around him, Soarame began to realise what was going on. No wonder he might be the only Water Boy this year — male students usually don’t choose Water lineage as their major. What he didn’t know was that more girls than boys had the gift of Water in the first place, according to a survey from the Sunrise Alliance.
‘Actually it’s not that bad to go Water.’ Casavin carried on. ‘There are so many pretty girls there; maybe I do wish I could go!’
Seeing Dileys becoming angrier and angrier, Casavin knew it was better to leave now. Dileys looked at Soarame and sighed. ‘Soarame, don’t listen to them — especially Casavin. He’s always rude; from now on, just keep away from him.’
Hearing this, Soarame suddenly lifted his head. ‘Why? Why would I hide from him?’
‘It’s…’ Dileys forced a smile. ‘That guy doesn’t have manners…’
‘You can’t beat him, silly. So if you don’t hide, what else can you do?’ A snickering voice sounded from behind them. Soarame turned around to find a chubby boy giggling, surrounded by others.
‘Is there nothing else, other than fighting or hiding?’ Soarame frowned and asked in reply.
‘Ha, interesting… what do you suggest, crying?’ As the plump boy spoke, the giggling
around them became even louder.
Dileys frowned and pulled Soarame aside. ‘Soarame, ignore all of them. Although fights are forbidden in the institute, there can still be bullying in different ways. If someone picks on you, just tell me and I’ll take care of it.’
Soarame was about to say something, but he didn’t. If his master hadn’t specifically told him not to reveal his secrets, he’d have pulled out his wand already. Dileys certainly noticed that the boy didn’t look happy at all, so she quickly changed the topic. ‘All right, Soarame, time to talk about your college application.’
Hearing this, Soarame was roused from the distraction and looked down at the parchment. A number of colleges were dotted thickly on the parchment, each had a name and a brief description. New students were supposed to make their choices with the help of their family before they came to the institute, but since Soarame was an exception, he had to ask some naïve questions. ‘Dileys, why do these names read like people?’
‘Because those are people’s names.’ Dileys patiently explained. ‘The Institute of Libral is named after the Great Libral, and college names are named after the first names of the founders. For example. “Joseph College” was founded by the Master Joseph Carloon.’
‘Then is this “Stanfaul College” named after the Great Stanfaul Libral?’ asked Soarame.
‘Exactly. Stanfaul College was founded by the Great Stanfaul Libral.’ Dileys nodded. ‘It is the most historic college and has the best facilities, but it only accepts the best students too.’
‘Then I’ll go for Stanfaul College!’ Soarame said immediately.
Just when Dileys was about to speak, there came a familiar voice from beside them. ‘What? You? Stanfaul College?’
Soarame turned around and stared at the same chubby boy — getting used to such challenges had been always difficult, especially as this chubby boy reminded Soarame of the schoolboys in his hometown years ago. Soarame subconsciously started pacing towards the boy. Seeing that, Dileys hastened forward to hold Soarame back. ‘Just ignore him! But you do need to think it over — Stanfaul College is the best, most are of “superior” gifts, so “capable” is rare there... don’t risk it!’
