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[color=949494][sub]O A K R I D G E   A C A D E M Y   A T R I U M[/sub][/color]

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[color=949494]Spirits swirled with lull motions within a dark dormitory room. Brilliant hues granted a faint glow on porcelain skin and silver hair. During such moments of rest and tranquility, the spirits within eagerly emerged to frolic. Many were their shapes and forms within a young girl named Celise, one sill resting in the early hours. A spirit of particular liking and fondness, the shape of a fox of icy hues, always saw to the silver girl’s wakening. It twiddled and swirled in the air until Celise broke her slumber. 

It was Monday morning. She had stayed up late the previous night to stroll around campus, around the academy grounds, nearby heights, and gaze upon the stars as she always did. Celise was a navigator at heart, an explorer, and she enjoyed such pursuits even if the area was known to her for many years. However, this day was special for many reasons. Not only had the United Defense Force launched a large-scale operation to strike at the heart of the enemy with experimental weapons, Celise was also going home for the first time in two years. 

The city of Ledale was under attack by infectious creatures, which put a dent in vital resources and supply lines. The academy had been broadcasting the news over the entire weekend. While most of the regular student-soldiers were not required to assist in the matter, all Guardians of the academy in their field mission phase of the education were going to ship out. Celise had spoken to her parents about the situation, and it had apparently gotten serious enough for them to pack things up and travel to the nearby town of Rians, where Celise’s grandparents live.

Celise pulled herself out of bed. The space in which she lived was the same as every other student on the campus ground. The rooms were rather small, but equipped with a bed, desk, shower, and a mini refrigerator. One of the walls had a holographic screening device that could broadcast whatever the student chose to tune into. Most of the programs were news about the war, politics and such, but some channels broadcasted old films. In the room there was also a small window overlooking a central garden. The Oakridge campus was a collection of cylinder structures with a hollow middle clad a decorative garden of flowers, plants, and trees. There were four of these cylinder housings on campus, each one able to house a three thousand students.

The first thing Celise did every morning was to text Lisa, a not too far off neighbor at the campus. The silver girl only included weird symbols in the message—♛☄♒⊗∃—but the recipient knew what it meant or did not mean. It was one of many of the ritualistic behaviors surrounding their kinship. But, her practice was interrupted by the thirty-minute interval announcements echoing throughout campus and the academy complex. Such were the days of school-wide deployment into the field. The announcement urged volunteers to report to academy administration, and Guardians to receive their mission documents. As Celise already knew, she was headed off to Ledale. 

Morning routines on deployment days were delightfully short. There was no bother with showers, no bother with cosmetics, no bother with much at all. She packed a dark backpack with everything she needed—some basic change of clothes, energy drinks, valuables, map and compass, and some navigation trinkets. Guardian deployment was a bit different from the regular army. They were expected to be on their own, to orient the world as independent units. They did not wear any uniforms except a mandatory badge given by the academy—the badge depicted the Oakridge Academy logo and a student identification number. Celise clad herself in a plain, dark shirt with its sleeves cut off. Tightly fitted jeans, although ripped, of the same coloration covered her legs. She always had some troubles with getting into them, bumps of skin and flesh protruding the ripped slivers along the thighs. And for wartime Celise used regular sneakers, which revealed her actual height.

Grabbing her sword from a tiny locker next to the bed, Celise was ready and out the door. The identification numbers of the Guardians assigned to her particular squad had been sent to her phone. The group had to meet at the academy garage for transportation to Oakridge City. Celise thought she recognized some of the student identification numbers in her squad, but she could not be entirely sure, as she had never memorized anyone’s digits. It was also under her impression that her squad would share transport with another doing another mission in the city itself. Celise made her way through the academy atrium. It was more or less the heart of it all, but relatively quiet still. The atrium was a gathering place for students, as well as a hub connecting all other buildings and places to it. There were numerous shops, cafes, restaurants, vending machines, and entertainment available around the clock. These businesses were obviously provided by Oakridge city, not ten minutes away by car.

Celise bought herself a fresh energy drink at a vending machine before slipping down some stairs to the garage. The drink was called [i]Renegade[/i], one of her favorites. Entering the cool, massive space for vehicles storage, the scent of metal and rubber hit her. The gearhead within her awakened instantly. Students of the Navigation Division were also mechanics and drivers, after all, even if Celise’s heart was focused on something more specific—pathfinding and exploration. As she approached the vehicle number listed in the message on her phone, 94, it appeared that the driver had arrived, doing some basic maintenance.[/color]

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