[h2]Julian/Linxi[/h2]

Julian raised an eyebrow as the boy drew a knife and took up a defensive stance. It wasn’t uncommon for new students to be a bit… jumpy. The world was a wider, diverse place, and many students brought the mindsets and instincts of their homes with them to the Academy. The boy’s sister, however, quickly intervened. Julian smiled the same sunny smile and shook his head, casually waving a hand.

“Oh, no worries. I probably could have picked a… less surprising entrance. Sorry to startle you.”

The girl filled her brother in on the details, with Julian nodding along. When Azura mentioned their family name, however, something like recognition flickered across the Headmaster’s face. [i]Orion.[/i] He knew that name well.

“Orion, ah yes, I read over your reports earlier.”

The Headmaster’s sunny smile dimmed only for a moment, his eyes flashing to Atlas with a look of understanding.

“So you’ll be Atlas, then. I’m happy to welcome Abrahim’s son. You look just like him, you know.” 

The Headmaster extended a hand from his sleeve to shake the boy’s hand. His eyes softened a bit as he offered a handshake to the other sibling. 

“And his daughter as well, though I suppose you take more after your mother. I’ve never met her I’m afraid, but my mentor always spoke very highly of the High Priestesses of your tribe. Your name is Azura, yes?”

The gleam of gold caught his eyes before he could continue. The Headmaster’s eyes drifted up just in time to catch a blur of black and gold being followed by a very determined skeleton. “It seems you weren’t the only ones to miss the tour. I guess Ema forgot to take a headcount…”

The Isilan boy came sliding in with all the grace of his station, the skeleton with a bit less. Julian raised a hand with a warm smile. “Hail, Prince! Welcome!” The God-King’s child was among the other files he had read this morning. He reached a hand down, raising the bag and handing it to the skeleton with a smile. The nature with which the Isilans regarded necromancy made many in Cresia nervous, but he had traveled the sands long enough that it seemed commonplace. “I find people often devalue naps. Their importance should not be underestimated!”

It was not Julian, but Linxi who noticed the final student approaching. Without looking, she turned to the newcomer with a bright grin. “Oh don’t worry, our friend here just stumbled a bit. All’s well.” She motioned toward the skeleton, her eyes finally settling on the girl. A look of faint surprise overtook her, and her smile only grew wider. The white-haired woman clasped her hands together and spoke up in a strange language, syllables fluttering about gracefully but with little rhyme or reason. The language of the Faefolk was virtually unknown outside of Nilsova. Even Linxi’s pronunciation was a poor replication of the sweet, hypnotizing voices of true Fae, but her point, simplified though it was, was clear. [i]”Welcome Sister! I don’t see many of us so far from home.”[/i]

Julian turned upon hearing Linxi speak up, looking at the new girl with a smile. “I’m afraid I’d embarrass myself if I tried to speak the Fae’s tongue, but welcome, nonetheless.”

Julian looked over the group, reaching into his pocket and removing a glittering gold pocket watch, inset with emeralds and amethysts. “Hmm… well, I’m afraid the tour may be wrapping up soon, still, you might be able to catch up for the very end. Of course, if you had a mind to explore on your own you certainly could.” Julian smirked, snapping his watch closed. “Or if you wanted to be first in line to choose your dormitories, you’ve got a pretty good chance at that as well.”

[@Crusader Lord] [@SamaraJayne96]


[h2]Kellin Caen[/h2]

Kellin nodded along with Callum’s assessment. “For sure, ‘specially with how the food smells here.” The bouquet of deliciousness that surrounded the kitchen and cafeteria had sent his stomach into a fit. He had eaten his fill on the airship, and the food there had been far above his usual fare, but if the smell were anything to go off of, the academy’s cook was in a whole other league. Catching Callum looking longingly back at the cafeteria, Kellin gave a look of solidarity. 

“I dunno about you, but I think I just figured out where I’m going once this tour’s over.” He nodded toward the source of the heavenly aroma. The smell had distracted him for a moment from the sleepy Osuunese boy who was introducing himself. He had heard some people had a lot of trouble sleeping on airships. Maybe this boy was one of those folks.

“Ha-ru-ko.” Kellin pronounced the name slowly for a moment, making sure he got it right.

“That’s a neat name. I’m Kellin. Nice to meetcha.”

The rest of the tour was fascinating, to be sure, but Kellin couldn’t help but feel held up by the whole thing. He wanted to explore the grounds on his own, see what there was to see! Of course, there was first the matter of smelling what there was to smell and tasting what there was to taste, and he had no intention of letting anything get between him and a second breakfast. 

As the three of them walked along, Kellin glanced over to Haruko. 

“You okay buddy? Didn’t get enough sleep?”

[@baraquiel] [@PigeonOfAstora]

[h2]The Welcoming Comittee![/h2]

Sira Hemwick was wholly unprepared for the girl weaving through the crowd behind her. No, in fact, Sira was daydreaming… if one could call what she did daydreaming. She had received a very interesting schematic for a prosthetic arm from her former mentor this morning, and while she was supposed to be helping with the tour, she frequently found herself drifting back toward the design. She was meant to critique it, of course, to go over every detail and find some flaw in its construction. There were no flaws, of course, or at least none that she was insightful enough to notice. Still, it was humbling that the Fifth took the time to ask her opinion. Still, how to critique a flawless design…

It was during this deep pondering that Xanara appeared beside her. She looked a bit surprised for a moment, but quickly began nodding along. “Hmm. Hmm. Causality. Yep. Paradox. Mhm.” She had produced a notepad at some point and was rapidly jotting down notes. “I might be able to help with that, certainly! I’m by no means the [i]best[/i] scholar on the subject, but I might be able to point you in the right direction, at least. What kind of issues have you been havin-” Sira blinked as Xanara opted not to impose. “Oh, it’s really no trouble… though it might take a bit of research…” Her voice grew slightly quieter as Ema spoke up above her, still regaling the students with the history of the Tower of Lights and stories of some of the tomes inside. She was just getting to the truly ancient works that the academy kept under lock and key. For a dedicated student though, no book was out of reach!

Sira, meanwhile, had picked up on another conversation happening just a few feet behind her. “Just one moment, Miss Xanara.” Sira slowed down, sinking in with the crowd and placing herself beside a peculiar girl in a pointed hat. “Oh, you’ve heard of the forge! I’m very excited about it. We’re still doing some final testing, but it should be up and running later this week! It’s actually…” Sira smiled, beaming with pride. “It was actually my design! Or, well, partly. It was based on something my mentor had been working on, but pulling the energy from other facilities, that was my doing.” Something seemed familiar about the blue-haired boy, but the artificer was terrible with faces. Noticing the wrench in the hands of the girl next to him, though, her eyes lit up. “An artificer from the Republic? How wonderful! I’m sure you’ll love the facilities here, actually, if you’ll look ahe-”

“If you’ll look ahead of us,” Ema motioned toward a building constructed entirely from a distinctively smooth black stone, “You will see the Hall of Instruction!” Thick vines covered the face of the old hall, vibrant flowers blooming across them. “It is here where most of the practical experimentation takes place. Every instructor has their own workshop within the walls, and there are a number of workshops for students as well. We have facilities for practicing all manner of spellcasting: thousands of alchemical ingredients, hundreds of high-precision tools for artificers… we even have rooms to help Psychic focus.” Ema smiled. “Of course, there are also the basement rooms. You’ll find those quite indestructible, though you’re more than welcome to test them to your heart’s content.”

Sira motioned toward the Hall with glee. “We actually just finished up some new stations for student artificers. You should come by and see them! The new tools are so precise. You can actually engrave runes so small that they’re near microscopic!” Rapidly, she turned back toward Xanara. “Actually, that would also probably be the place to look into this problem of yours as well! Well, the library would probably be helpful as well…” Deep thought seemed to take the artificer.

Ema led them on past the Hall of Instruction, motioning to the small white building beside it. A woman with chestnut brown hair waved at them from its doorway. Her glasses shimmered from beneath the shade of her sun hat. “That is the infirmary. Should any of you fall ill or injure yourselves, the Brinstroms will see to you. Albert is currently away on business, but Ophelia is a wonderful healer. She also keeps a garden behind the building where she grows all sorts of herbs for alchemical purposes, as well as fresh produce for the kitchen. She keeps a few plots open for students as well, if any of you are interested in trying your hand at it.” 

As they continued on, a quartet of towers rose above the treeline. They seemed a bit worn down compared to the other buildings. “If you continue that way, you’ll find the arena. It hasn’t been used in quite some time, though renovations are scheduled to begin later this month. Once those are done, it will be a stage for a few events that we’re not allowed to speak about just yet.” Ema winked.

“But with that the tour is complete! I hope I didn’t bore any of you. Feel free to explore around campus as much as you like, though please be sure to go and claim a room in the dormitories. Your things should have been transported over by now. If any of you would like to speak with any of us we will be available, otherwise I hope you all can start to make yourselves at home here. The Headmaster’s speech and the feast will be at Everin’s Hall at sunset, I will see you there!”

With that, the tour was over. A few students looked around confusedly, others darted off to go explore, yet others approached Ema. Korina leaned against a nearby tree, glancing over the dispersing crowd.

[@Random Kitty] [@Epsir] [@ERode] [@Katthaj] [@CavnderOHeart] [@Lord of Evil] [@Scribe of Thoth]