Solomon stepped off the carriage and gave a short bow to the driver. "Thank you for your help," he said. Straightening himself, he turned around to join his new companions.

"If it's resolve," he said as he came by the other boy's side, a faint smile on his face, "then I reckon that I've enough for what's to come. If I don't then I will just find more, yes?"

He took in the view before him. It was just . . . breathtaking. All the different seasons meshed into one, a feet he knew only magic was capable of. It was another testament to the wonders the art of magic was capable of doing, and gave him all the more resolve to push through with this choice, that he would learn magic. Looking at the different paths, he wondered if this was some sort of test . . .

No, that was a foolish notion. He had heard, straight from [i]her[/i] mouth, so long ago, just what kind of nature magic and those who wielded it possessed:

[i]"True tests never end,"[/i] was what she said. Always assume it was a test. If a magi wasn't testing you then the very nature of magic would -- that was how he understood it, anyhow. It seemed simple enough.

Given that, he had to decide where to go. The girl with them was certainly bold, charging right ahead into the Spring Path, and in all honesty, he was tempted to follow her; common sense dictated to take safety in numbers -- but was magic really bound by common sense? 

Solomon made his decision, and he turned to the the two remaining would-be students, and saw them off with a nod.

"I suppose I'll be going ahead then. Let's hope we meet each other in the castle, yes?"

And with that, he shot off down the Winter Path. Logically, it wasn't the best option -- cold weather conditions were the hardest to move it, but winter held a special meaning for him. He would survive, regardless.