[center]Ralthavar Marchosias[/center]
---

Ralthavar woke up to the rapid sounds of footsteps. Opening his eyes he found himself in an unfamiliar room. The ceiling and walls were plain white. His bed felt firm, like he was sleeping on a box. His pillow was not a cloth sack full of bird feathers but some sort of linen back filled with cotton. Instead of a stitched fur blanket he had a single thin one, barely thick enough to be used as a napkin. He remembered that he came into this room the night before, after he had met with a charming person named Elena, whom he took to the fort after meeting her. Sure, there was some issues regarding the rules of the orcs constructing such a thing, but he was confident he could convince the headmaster to allow it. At the very least, he did not make it an issue when he arrived. 

The Fort was mostly in completion, at least as far as basic construction went. Solid walls of ice, stone, and wood, with various buildings that would protect those inside from the harsh weather. Though mostly vacant, there was already signs that the orcs planned to renovate the interiors with more furnishing, and of course the first thing they wanted to put up was a brewery. He prevented them only because he has yet to hear an answer on the legalicy of having one on the academy's ground, but aside from that he allowed his orcs free reign.

After they had set up a kitchen, the orcs celebrated the initial completion of the fort with food, dance, and drink. Music was played and revelry was committed, and even Ralthavar found himself in a few dances and friendly bouts of fisticuffs. More importantly, Elena was enjoying herself too, and seemed right at home with the orcs. This "Russia" must have been a harsh place, as she was able to withstand most of the orc's more punishing drinks and games, and certainly gave them a run for their money. All and all an enjoyable experience, however as the sun went down and the night grew on, Ralthavar had to stop the party. Though he doesn't mind his orcs occupying the Fort to ensure that it doesn't fall to the wrong hands, he wanted all his orcs to take their dormitories so that should they be forced to tear down the fort, they would have somewhere to go back to. It wasn't a popular decision and many wanted to simply roost in the home they made, but Ralthavar made it clear that he was not going to allow them to rest in the fort that night. As they packed up their belongings and cleaned their mess, Ralthavar walked Elena to their dormitories.

Elena and the orc chatted a bit on the way back, both of them mildly intoxicated but apparently sober enough to not attract the unwanted attention of any school staff. Ralthavar could not remember the exact details of their conversation, but he was very much certain that before they parted ways, he asked Elena about a possible partnership. He vaguely remembered the school requiring students to pair up with one another as partners who would partake in missions together. Though he only knew Elena for barely a whole night, he was confident to say that he would be willing to risk his life for her, and trust that she would do the same. Of course, he merely offered the idea and did not force her to choose than and there. He may have also attempted to romance her, however if she took it seriously or comically, he was happy to know that he did not remember.

Back to now, Ralthavar slowly got out of bed. His clothes from before, patched animal hides made for cold weather, was grimy with dirt and stains from the night before. Luckily he had another set of clothes, one that did not share his more tribal influence; clothing traded from the Earth World. Just as their people traded with the earthlings for their weapons, they also took part in other luxuries, such as their apparel and and services. Though he understood everyone would have, or should have, received the academy's uniform, Ralthavar was certain that he did not posses one at the moment, and thus he wore something else. He looked towards a pair of trousers made of a course material the earthlings call "Denim", which was a dark blue coloration. Though the trousers were tight around his thighs and butt, what he liked the most were the multitude of pockets on the leg. "Cargo Pants", as they were called. He wore another earth-made garment known as a sweater, which sure to his name, made him warm enough to sweat. But given the cold weather they would be in, more heat would be good. Lastly he put on his shoes of which he only had one pair any ways, and it was still solid enough to be functional. It heavily contrasted to his earthling clothes, but they were clean and didn't reek of booze.

He gathered up journals and other parchment he felt he would need for his classes, as well as strapped various belts and bandoliers on his body which he used to hold his weapons. A short blade on his waste, his axe on his back, the shotgun carefully slug over his shoulders, with no ammo since he did not intent to shoot it any time soon. He still carried the shotgun shells in a separate pocket on his pants. He also had a few magical potions in stone flasks which he tucked onto his bandolier, and once he was ready he left his room and headed to class.

Ralthavar was swept up by the wave of orcs in his dormitory, all of whom were in a hurry to reach their class. They weren't late, not even close, but it was an exciting day and they were full of energy. Many of the orcs wanted to make a big impression for themselves, but Ralthavar was decidedly modest. While his orcs did crazy things such as crash through the walls or swing in from the windows, Ralthavar arrived to his homeroom about thirty minutes before class needed to arrive. A few students were already present, but he knew that there would be more to come. He took a seat near the front of the class and waited as more and more students arrived, some shortly after him, others barely before they were too late.

The teacher, a... "Mr. Fenris", was strange to say the least. Some sort of cartoonish tentacle creature. Ralthavar wasn't one to dismiss him however; there were plenty of silly looking monsters back at Lucis, but they were still monsters, and they would have killed him if he never took them seriously. And plus since Mr. Fenris was a teacher at an academy dedicated to the defeat of monsters, he likely knew exactly what he was teaching. Still a very eccentric being as when he called out names he did so in random order. As students introduced themselves, Ralthavar was called up.

[b]"I am Ralthavar Marchosias, from the land of Malakaus, in the world of Lucis. I am a Half-Orc, and I lead the Harmonious First, a horde of orcs. I am pleased to meet all of you."[/b]

[center]Mariam Machina[/center]
---

[b]"Mmm... I dunno. I don't judge people by appearance. That's rude."[/b] Mary resounded to Ier's initial question about how she couldn't tell he was a Gemstone. He also mentioned that he didn't need to sleep, eat, or bath, but the way he said it made him sound like one of those holier-than-thou aliens who dismissed humans for being... Humans. Mary thought it would be a good idea to prove him wrong, but later. For now she wanted to get out of Biggy and stretch her legs. [b]"Well, I'm going to turn in for tonight. I have lots of stuff to do today before it gets too dark. First I need to head over to the garage and find a place to store Biggy when I don't need him. Feel free to tag along!"[/b] 

Mary headed out of the assembly hall and towards the garage. Ier followed her for a bit, and they chatted to each other mostly about Lucis and Gemstones. Though Mary thought Ier was full of himself, she did have to admit what he was telling her was impressive, almost unbelievably so. But her childish fantasies didn't dismiss the possibilities of what he was saying was true, and if anything, only made her envious of him. She wanted to know more, more importantly she wanted to know how. Someone like Ier was indeed powerful, and Mary wanted that power herself. She didn't know how she would get it, but the more Ier talked about Gemstones, the more Mary's resolve to have them grew.

Soon the two reached the garage where they parted ways. [b]"It was nice talking to you, see you later!"[/b] With a final wave goodbye, Mary entered the garage and looked for a place to store Biggy. While not a car, she needed a private place where no one could simply come by and trash him, and soon enough she found a sort of Premium Space where she could make sure Biggy would have some alone time. The cost was steep, too steep for most people, but money wasn't an issue for Mary. It took barely a dent out of her allowances and after she deposited Biggy, Mary got out of her mech and called for the drones.

Four smallish drones appeared from Biggy's body. Unlike Biggy, they weren't made for combat or to take hits, however they could easily lift and carry three hundred pounds, which was handy since Mary also had some luggage. Mary and her drones left towards the dormitories, where she spent most of the night designing her room. It was much smaller than the one back at home, but she made due with the space given and tricked it out to look like very techie-casual. She even had a small workbench to do some minor repairs and designs on her drones, though she'd make use of the machine shops for bigger jobs. Sitting down on her bed, Mary wondered what she should do for the rest of the night. It was already dark out and she didn't feel confident to be out late without Biggy or some friends. But the only friend she had was Ier, and she didn't know where he was at. Mary took out a small booklet and made a note of things she needed to do, and making more friends was on the top of that list. Though she did leave her dorm to get some dinner, the night was uneventful as she fell asleep.

The next day Mary's alarm went off. Yawning cutely as she got out of bed, Mary nearly tripped herself up when she was about to call Biggy to make breakfast for her. While she had no doubts that he would, he'd have to break out of his garage first and raid the kitchen, which she doubt was built for his size. [b]"Remember Mary, this isn't like home anymore! You have to take care of yourself a little. Yup, so let's go find breakfast ourselves!"[/b] Mary said as she left her room to get breakfast. It was plain honestly, but fulfilling. After eating and washing up Mary put on her school uniform and headed to the garage. She got Biggy out from the garage and had him carry her to her first class. They were running a bit late since Mary wasted time getting him, and he didn't exactly rush. If she had taken the normal entrance she would have been late, so she ordered Biggy to stop by the window. He did so, walking up to class 1-Q and making an entrance for her from outside the wall, which Mary took and reacted to it like it ain't-no-thang.

Taking her seat soon class started and they were all told to introduce each other. They went in random order with lots of people introducing themselves and mentioning where they came from, so Mary did the same. [b]"I am Mariam Machina, but you can call me Mary! I'm from earth."[/b]