[i]What is happening? What is this, this is not blood?[/i] Auron falls down on his knees shaking. The black vapours from his eyes begin to fade as a jolt of pain make Auron convulse, forcing him into fetal position.
-"This isn't me, this isn't me, this isn't me..." Auron whisper to himself while tears streams down his face, until conciousness fails him.
-"What the hell? Auron!?" Julius can hear James shouting somewhere behind him. However the Nord can not afford to lose his focus, his life depended on this very next move. Standing up Julius readied his weapon. The Goblin was charging at full speed while pointing the dagger viciously at Julius. Showing no fear Julius walk forward and swings his sword horizontally against the leader's large head. Julius can feel his magic surging through his whole body, focusing all the power to his arms. Quick to react the goblin try to duck below the swing, but is simply too slow compared to the speed and force the strike has behind it. The blade sinks into the goblin's face and slices through the mouth, tearing the spinal atlas asunder before cracking trough the other side of the jaw, completely severing the top of the leader's head. The leader's headless body flails around aimlessly while his tongue flaps, gurgling noises and blood splurting from his neck. When the leader finally hits the ground his comrades recover from James' spell. Upon seeing their mutilated leader they flee in horror, throwing away their weapons while screaming. With blood splayed all over his face Julius fell down on the ground exhausted.

[b]Victory![/b]

[u]Spoils[/u]
Silver Dagger (?)
58 Copper coins

[hr]

Auron never had it easy growing up. It was a lone and painful time. Auron had been a sickly child, often stuck in bed for several weeks straight. High fevers, agues and blood vomiting were common. It got better with the years however. Auron had lived with his his father, Gregory Zecane, and the family butler, Mahrti, in a manor on the countryside since he was born. It was common among noble people to live in an estate or a manor with their appurtenant fields and other farm life. The Zecane family is a very young, and small at this time, noble house. The Zecane ancestry can be traced way back, but it hasn't been a noble one until recent history, thirty years to be precise. Anything else is unknown to Auron, kept secret by his cruel father. Gregory Zecane look a lot like his son, or rather the other way around. They both share similar features, long black hair, pale skin and ice blue eyes. However Gergory is well built and tall while Auron is very slender. Gregory was a harsh father with high expectations. Auron, upon failing with his studies or in other manners failing to achieve his father's high standards, were often punished with cold violence. Gregory never showed any affection towards his son, as if Auron was lesser or unwanted. His family's whereabouts is a mystery much like everything else to Auron. Upon asking his father Auron was told that his mother had died giving birth to him and that any other family had been killed, reasons not mentioned. Gregory occasionally left the manor for long periods of time, sometimes several months, leaving Auron alone with the butler.
Mahrti, the butler, was friendly towards Auron, though not very sociable. He was often busy taking care of the manor. Many of Auron's few fond memories are Mahrti reading old folk tales to him when he lay in his bed sick. There was not much room for fun or development at the manor. No friends around or anything fun to do. Reading literature and playing with toys was only fun for so long. However Auron's life would turn upside down one morning when Gregory woke him up...

[hr]

-"James... James! There is blood everywhere!" With panic in his voice Julius stared at his bleeding gut with wide open eyes while laying down on his rice bed.
-"You'll be okay Julius just calm down. If you start riling yourself up you'll only bleed faster, deep breaths is the key." sitting next to Julius, James grab Julius' head with his both hands and stare into his eyes.
-"Oh sweet mother nature it hurts so bad! How do you know all this?" No matter how hard Julius try to apply pressure to his stomach blood keep streaming out between his fingers.
-"I study healing spells you dumbnut. Now shut your trap and let me work my magic." James remove Julius' hands from the wound and cup his own hands over it. Julius feel a slight warmth inside as the pain fade away gently. Over the course of half an hour the bleeding stagnated to a stop. James laid down panting next to a languid Julius, spent after focusing on one spell for a great while. With half lidded eyes Julius look down on his blood caked stomach to find his wound now shut tight. Trembling slightly Julius relaxed, falling asleep almost immediately next to James who were already snoring.

zZzZz

Thursday, 06:27
Location: The shallow woods

Auron sits up screaming from his sleep, waking James up in the process. [i]Where am I!? What happened!?[/i] Sweating and gritting Auron looks around himself. Julius and James is lying in a puddle of blood huddled together, covered in dried blood. Around the camp site lies the goblin corpses from last night's turmoil. Yesterday's action flashes through Auron's mind. [i]I passed out... What was that feeling? Was it just the rush of battle?[/i]
-"Auron? Are you alright?" James sits up rubbing his tired eyes. It was quite obvious Auron wasn't "alright," but the question was still valid.
-"I'm not sure. I'm not wounded in any case."
-"I see. Looks like we got some work to do, care to give me a hand?"
-"Sure." Together the two of them carry away the nasty monster cadavers and pile them. By doing so now they could avoid the smell once the sun start to lay down its heat.
-"So... What happened last night? You know, the screaming and all?" James asks timidly as they carry the kind of beheaded leader. Normally Auron would just brush it all off as his own business. But today was different and Auron decided on opening himself up a bit.
-"Honestly? I don't know. But what I do know is that it wasn't me."
-"Mhm... I think that was all of them. I'm off washing myself, can you wake Julius?"
-"Yes." Auron walked back to camp and crouched next to the snoring Nord. Shaking him gently he wakes up.
-"Good morning Auron, Nice to see you." Julius give him a weak smile while sitting up. "Where is James?"
-"By the stream cleaning himself."
-"I see..." Taking a good look at himself Julius decides that he should follow James example, being soaked in both his own and goblin blood. "I should go and join him." Julius stood up on weak legs and lumped away. When Julius arrive by the brook he spot James sitting on his knees bending over the glistering stream. James look up with water dripping from his blonde hair when Julius sits down next to him.
-"Oh hello Julius! How are you feeling?"
-"Weak and tired, but otherwise fine." Julius tossed his shirt into the stream as he began scooping water to clean himself. "It would've been much worse if you hadn't done what you did yesterday. It was impressive, being able to heal someone's wounds just like that!"
-"Don't say too much. I wasn't able to completely heal you. The wound was deep, luckily it didn't puncture any organs but I couldn't heal it completely. Your body is still recovering from inner bleeding so make sure you don't push yourself over the limit or you risk the wound tearing  itself open."
-"I'll keep that in mind. [i]And here I was looking forward to trying weapons practice today...[/i]

[hr]

Slightly scattered from yesterday the boys arrive at school. Julius head to basic magic and James to religious.
-"You coming Auron?" Julius asks as they walk up the stairs to the entrance.
-"Actually, my class is behind the school."
-"Oh, alright! See you at lunch!" Parting their ways Auron head for the training fields. It lies next to weapons class a bit secluded at the edge of the shallow woods. The area features an obstacle course and a running track that goes through the woods. Throughout the area are also several weights scattered and other objects of physical training such as ropes, beams and even pommel horses. A few older students are there warming up together with who Auron assume is the teacher. He's tall and fit with frizzly, brown hair. He's wearing tight leather pants and a simple, white shirt. Auron try to meet his glance as he approaches the group.
-"I haven't seen you before! Could you be another early bird here to get some exercise?" The man asks cheerfully mid stretching.
-"I guess so, this is physical education right?"
-"You guessed it! My name is Tony, Tony Frisk" The teacher reaches out his hand to shake Auron's.
-"Auron... Zecane." Reluctantly Auron mentions his last name as he shakes his teacher's hand. He has a painful strong grip.
-"Nice to meet you Zecane! Why don't you and I go for a little run? It's always fun to meet a new freshman!" Auron was surprised that there was no negative reaction from the teacher upon mentioning his full name, positively surprised that is. Tony's strong attitude and cheerful way was a nice change of tone. Auron took place next to Tony in a jogging pace as they made their way along the running track. [i]{Strength check: Very low}[/i]

Now Auron was not the most athletic child, quite the opposite really. He had never been exposed to hard work and never really played any games when he was younger because of his lack of friends. The closest he came to any practice was dance lessons with his father, which he was bad at as well. So it was no wonder that it only took Auron a few minutes before he was wheezing and struggling to keep up the pace.
-"So where do you come from Auron? Swedium I presume?"
-"...Western..."
-"Western? I always loved the scenery there! The rolling hills, the salty sea breeze, the busy village life, it all appealed to me. Nothing wrong with the forest of course, but running in the woods get tedious after a few years. So what'cha studying?"
-"...Demonology...Magic..."
-"Black magic eh? Good to see you cellar dwellers leave your rituals some times. Just because you meddle with powers beyond human understanding it doesn't mean that you don't need a healthy body! Speaking of healthy, are you managing your meals well? It's usually one of the biggest obstacles to climb as a freshman."
-"...I...We..." Jogging was hard enough, but trying to have a conversation at the same time was simply too much. Auron stop and falls to his knees trying to catch his breath.
-"Oh? Perhaps a change of pace is in order. Why didn't you tell me?" Tony helped Auron up on his feet and lifted his arms straight up. "Keep your arms up, it makes it easier to breathe. Take big a rhythmic breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth." After Auron regained his respiration the two continued along the track, now at a fast, much more comfortable, walking pace. The track was quite lengthy, probably several kilometres, and varied in altitude. "You are free to practice any kind of physical activity here in class. But I do recommend a balanced training, especially for someone out of shape, no offence."
-"None taken."
-"It might not seem that important, but a strong and healthy body can save your life. One day your life might depend on you outrunning a stronger foe, or having the strength to carry on through physical hardships. I've heard so many stories of students falling down clefts, getting chased down by orches, drowning, succumbing to malnutrition. It's a horrible place Lauzurus, so learn to prepare, persist, and overcome."

[hr]

Julius made his way out of the lunch hall with a smile on his face. Today's basic magic lesson had been about magical energies and ways to acquire mana. However the reason Julius was so happy was that Agiatha had said that they'll start spell practice next week. Julius had also gotten the chance to brag some more for Marcus and the gang. Apparently someone had found a pile of goblin bodies and word had began going around.
-"That silver dagger was probably Klara's, a freshman like you. She went missing last year and was presumed dead when no one could find her. Looks like they were right." Marcus sure seemed to know the most insignificant facts.
Despite James' warning Julius decided to check out weapons practice. [i]How bad could it be?[/i] Once there Julius met a very unsettling sight. Students, both younger and older, are lying on the ground crying and squirming. Some are bruised, others are bleeding. in the middle of the bunch is a young man, squatting while smoking a cigar. He wears nothing but a pair of simple pants and on his shoulder rests a wooden staff.
-"Man... I've never seen such a pathetic bunch of sissies. You better get to nurse'y now, I got next class coming up. Oh and Ronja..." He stands up and walk over to one of the girls. "This is for trying to cheat!" He kicks her right in the gutter, making her puke real bad. "Don't you ever try to use magic in my class again or I will bash your head off with my staff, okay?" Whimpering the class help each other to get away from the disgraceful teacher. He squats again and keeps on smoking the cigar.

"Ey! I can see you over there freshman, get over here." The teacher glares at Julius intensely. Obediently Julius walk over to him. "Are you here for weapons class?" the man must be quite tall since he meets Julius eyes even though he is squatting.
-"Yes!" Julius try to muster as much strength as possible to his voice.
-"Well shit, so much for hoping I could have the rest of the day off. Okay sissy, fight me." He puffs a big cloud of smoke in Julius face and stands up.
-"What!?"
-"You heard me! Fight me sissy! You are here to learn how to fight aren't you?"
[i]Oh god, am I even a match to this guy? what should I do!?[/i]

[hr]

Stinky, sweaty and beat Auron makes his way to the dark magic classroom. Auron open the door to the classroom only to find stairs leading down into a cellar. Down the stairs are torches burning with an eerie blue blaze.
[i]Spooky...[/i]
As Auron walk down the stairs he hear the sound of a low key choir and bongos performing some kind of savage music. Downstairs it's even more ghastly. The classroom is very dim with dark mist along the floor and blue light coming from the torches. The other attendants to the class is standing in a ring, chanting and playing their music. Everyone seems to be a part of some kind of sect since they are all wearing black cloaks.
-"Everybody stop!" An old woman shrieks. The classroom goes quiet. "I sense a new presence. Step inside the ring and join the ritual apprentice of the dark arts."
Auron press himself through the ring only to be met with a very unpleasant sight. The teacher is an old hag, standing naked only wearing red body paint. Her skin tone is very dark, revealing she is not from these parts, and too much more. "Auron Zecane, Your troubled spirit finally found it's way down here." She slaps a handful of cold, moist mud in Auron's face. He can't help but cringe.
"Do you seek to master the glooming spectrum Zecane?" She slaps more mud onto his other cheek. "Will you seek my guidance to master the power of darkness?" The other students start the music again, but slowly and softly. She slaps both her hand Auron's your cheeks and smears the mud all over his face. She moves in face to face with the boy, so close Auron could lick her nose. "Will you learn the ancient ways of power?" She whispers with a sly smile on her face. "Will you follow your fate and study the dark arts, or do you refuse the flow of the world!?"

[hr]

[b][u]Auron[/u][/b]

(Open Choice)

*Alignment increased!*
*Strong increased!*
*Well being decreased.*
[hider=Character Sheet]Name: Auron Zecane
Age: 13
Gender: Man
Race: Swedian

Strong: 3
Agile:1
Precise:2
Discreet: 0
Affined: 8
Psychic: 5
Clever: 3
Vigilant:3
Convincing: 2	
Fate: 1

Alignment: +5
Popularity: +0
Well being: -50

Skills: Inner magic (?), Geography (lvl.2)
Spectrum: The Glooming (2/4)
Elements: Corruption, Demonology

Inventory: Ink and quill, Blue Key, Pamphlet
Money: 5 silver, 23 copper[/hider][hider=Pamphlet][b]-Courses-[/b]

[list]
[*] Basic magic
[*] Raw magic
[*] Trance magic
[*] Synthetic magic
[*] Dark magic
[*] Corruption magic
[*] Demonology magic
[*] Galaxial magic
[*] Fire magic
[*] Water magic
[*] Earth magic
[*] Wind magic
[*] Nature magic
[*] Organic magic
[*] Metamorphism magic
[*] Will magic
[*] Light magic
[*] Healing magic
[*] Religious magic
[*] Arcane magic
[*] General education
[*] Physical education
[*] Art class
[*] Crafts class
[*] Weapon class
[/list]
[b]-Rules-[/b]

[list]
[*]Do not fight without a teachers permission.
[*]Do not sleep in any house but your own.
[*]Do not share your key to anyone.
[*]Do not disobey any teachers.
[*]Do not miss morning classes on weekdays.
[*]Do not get anyone pregnant.
[*]Do not enter school at night.
[/list][/hider][hider=Spells][b]-Wither-[/b]

Element: [color=708090]Corruption[/color] - [color=708090]Corruption[/color]
Difficulty: Medium
Level: 1

Slowly kill a target plant or tree within a very short radius. Requires more mana to wither healthier plants.

[b]-Underworld link-[/b]

Element: [color=A52A2A]Demonology[/color] - [color=A52A2A]Demonology[/color]
Difficulty: Easy - Hard
Level: 1

Establish a connection with a random demon in the underworld or a nearby demon.[/hider]

[b][u]Julius[/u][/b]

(Open Choice)

*Well being decreased*
*Convincing increased!*
[hider=Character Sheet]Name: Julius Frost
Age: 12
Gender: Man
Race: Nord

Strong: 6
Agile: 2
Precise: 4
Discreet: 0
Clever: 2
Vigilant: 2
Affined: 2
Psychic: 1
Convincing: 2
Fate: 1

Alignment: +4
Popularity: +5
Well being: -10

Skills: Inner magic (lvl.1)
Spectrum: The Potent (1/4), The Glooming (1/4)
Element: The Raw, The Galaxial

Inventory: Short sword, prayer beads, dagger, Blue key, Pamphlet, B.magic book.
Money: 3 copper[/hider][hider=Status][b]Physical Afflictions[/b]

None.

[b]Psychological Afflictions[/b]

Lovestruck - Jenny Redoak
It was love at first sight for Julius, now he is helplessly enamoured with the girl.[/hider][hider=Pamphlet][b]-Courses-[/b]

[list]
[*] Basic magic
[*] Raw magic
[*] Trance magic
[*] Synthetic magic
[*] Dark magic
[*] Corruption magic
[*] Demonology magic
[*] Galaxial magic
[*] Fire magic
[*] Water magic
[*] Earth magic
[*] Wind magic
[*] Nature magic
[*] Organic magic
[*] Metamorphism magic
[*] Will magic
[*] Light magic
[*] Healing magic
[*] Religious magic
[*] Arcane magic
[*] General education
[*] Physical education
[*] Art class
[*] Crafts class
[*] Weapon class
[/list]
[b]-Rules-[/b]

[list]
[*]Do not fight without a teachers permission.
[*]Do not sleep in any house but your own.
[*]Do not share your key to anyone.
[*]Do not disobey any teachers.
[*]Do not miss morning classes on weekdays.
[*]Do not get anyone pregnant.
[*]Do not enter school at night.
[/list][/hider][hider=Spells][b]-Empower-[/b]

Element: [color=FFFAFA]Raw[/color] - [color=FFFAFA]Raw[/color]
Difficulty: Hard
Level: 1

Enhance a physical action with pure magic, making it stronger and faster.

[b]-Stardust-[/b]

Element: [color=ADD8E6]Galaxial[/color] - [color=ADD8E6]Galaxial[/color]
Difficulty: Medium
Level: 1

Control stardust to impede magic and spells. Can also blind and/or make the victim hallucinate.[/hider]