[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHmdF-XhRu8]A School like no other[/url]
Leonardo Hadn’t even considered the day, He’d spent the night as he’d usually done, working under candle and lamp light in his workshop building and adjusting yet more arcane technology. Picking up a pistol looking device he stepped out the small side door in to the back garden of the floating island on which the large house he lived in with his mother, grandfather and sometimes uncle. Looking at the side of the pistol like mechanism he flicked it with his thumb, the small LED on the back flicked from off to bright blue, slotting in a clip of mana crystals he pointed it down the garden and off the edge of the island. Pulling the trigger a beam of crackling energy leapt froth, hissing and spitting with electrical energy, dissipating about 25 meters away from him. He held it for a moment and counted under his breath, letting go of the trigger after a count of thirty he twisted the dial on the side with his thumb and the LED blinked out, dropping the clip he looked it over. “Half..” He said to himself pocketing the clip and walking back inside his workshop. The sun, such as it was right here, over the black gale, was just starting to rise, bathing the house on a pale orange and red glow. It warmed Leonardo’s back as he headed in to the workshop; on impulse he left the door open. Setting the pistol down atop a small pile of equipment, including Brahak and his casting pistol, the pile of equipment he was to take to the Academy. It wasn’t much, though he had organised something with his Grandfather to let him bring his larger preferences along, including his workbench. Setting the clip of mana crystals in a small port that he had for holding his crystals while recharging he set about making a second one. By the time he’d finished The sun had well and truly risen, he was happily adjusting the outer casing to make it look more ornate than it already did, He had a thing for the aesthetics of his equipment. It was unique, so it had to look as such. His reverie was broken when a small wall mounted screen started bleeping; it was a very old CRT display, one of the first things his uncle had smuggled through for him. It provided the output for a strange radar device he’d had put in to his uncles ship and on the base of the floating Island. He used it to keep an eye on his uncle whenever he was going in or out of the gale. On the screen a small green dot was heading steadily towards the centre of it. Setting the pistol down he ran outside and lent over the edge of the island watching the small spec develop in to a strange looking ship, Looking like a cross between a large cargo plane and a airship his uncles transport looked far more ungainly than it had any right to be. And it handled even worse in Leonardo’s opinion. 

The ship came to a halt at what could only be described as a driveway, it was a long platform held out from the front of the house via struts, the plane-airship landed on it, listing to one side before settling down, Leonardo was already there, wondering if his uncle had gotten his hands on the bits Leo needed. Leonardo’s Uncle smiled and swept his nephew up in to a hug “Its good to see you before you go kiddo!” He boomed, Alexander was a bear of a man, bigger than most others, and built like a tank. Leonardo looked confused for a moment, then remembered “OH god, its today isn’t it uncle?” Alexander looked confused and then laughed “You forgot again didn’t you?” He teased “One of these days you’ll have to get your head out your workshop and in to the real world, You can’t go about forgetting the day you’re ment to go to school! You were up all night again working on that blasted Manalance weren’t you?” Leonardo laughed, his uncle could read him well enough. “Yes uncle, but it works now. Anyway! What did you get this time?” He asked, His uncle just shook his head “Nothing this time kiddo, the entire place is in uproar with the new uptake of Academy students. At this point Alexander’s Grandfather walked out the house with a large cup of coffee. Whilst he was a greater Demon he preferred to avoid assuming his true form in the house, Not only did it tend to make things smell like sulphur and ash, but his horns scraped something terrible on the ceilings. He appeared as a tall, well-built gentlemen in his late 20’s, wearing a suit and often wearing an eye patch. “What on earth is all this ruckus about? And Leo, are you not packed yet?” He added and Leonardo looked slightly panicked “No I didn’t!” and with that he sprinted back inside. Madly packing all he needed he also got changed and showered, washing the majority of the oil and mana dust from his skin. Picking up his two guns and Brahak he set them in to place, the two pistols at his hip and Brahak folded up over his back, he also had the long school coat on. As per the year before he carred a medium sized back pack and a hard cased suitcase. The back pack had some changes of clothes and the essentials for day to day life, The suitcase had several dozen large scrolls with transportation sigrils drawn across them, matching up to sigrils linked to several of the more important workshop benches, and his wardrobe and bed. The sigrils had been done by his grandfather. He came out the house to find his uncle and Grandfather pouring over what he identified as a music player, checking his pockets he walked over and took his Music player off them. “Will you stop taking my stuff. Even if it is manahanced.” He protested, then hugged them both. “I’m going to miss you two.” He admitted and grinned. “I’m still not going to write!” He said. They both said good bye to Leo and headed inside to have some breakfast, Leonardo having eaten much earlier in the day. Leonardo settled down on the end of the drive, tossing stones and other detritus over the edge, in to the gale, waiting for his lift to arrive. 

After some time he saw a formation of griffins leaving the black gale, setting the back pack upon his shoulders and putting the hard case in to position under it he fastened the two together and stood. “One….Two….Three…” He started running. Last year he’d been so excited about going he’d accidently jumped off the edge of the island, prompting his Griffin to have to catch him, later that year he’d found the griffin’s and gotten to know ‘his one’ Once again he was putting in to practice a untested theory. And once again it was insanely risky. All this flashed through his mind as he leapt from the edge of the driveway, coat tails flapping behind him as he shot downwards, a coloured blur keeping pace with him he laughed. He was, as per usual, right his griffin was right beside him, stretching a hand out he grabbed hold of the saddle and pulled himself in to position, gripping tightly, He had his teeth bared against the wind he lent close to his ride and egged it on to push to the edge of what it could do speed wise, grinning he let the insane speeds wake him up. Being right atop the gale he got to leave later and arrive at the same time as the other students. 

Due to the insane speeds he was going the landing wasn’t quite as majestic as some of the others landings, The griffin spread its wings to slow itself, but it still landed and skidded a good thirty meters or so, turning through 45 degrees as it did so. Leonardo let out a loud whoop of joy and vaulted from the griffin, landing and stumbling a little, earning a disapproving glare from his griffin. Doing a heel turn he walked over to his Griffin and rubbed its neck appreciatively. After a moment he turned and headed towards the building, the manic grin still on his face as he did so, his hair a total mess from the insane wind he’d just gone through.