Toma was used to waking up early - back on his family's farm the Rooster, Egg, was far louder than his father had been and was eager to crow hours before sunrise. While Toma wasn't very fond of the bird, his journey to the academy had shown him how much he relied on Egg to wake him up in the mornings. More than once he slept in until 9 AM (So late!), and Oats wasn't very eager to wake Toma up to continue their journey. One of the reasons Toma had gone to bed earlier than usual last night, along with limiting how much he drank, was because he wasn't sure if he'd awaken on time for classes.

Luckily, Athena was more than capable of fulfilling Egg's role as an alarm clock.

[color=ffc0cb]"...report to the Hall of Combat with any equipment that you require. If you do not have the appropriate equipment it will be provided for you on site."[/color]

Athena definitely said something before that, but in the time it took for Toma to wake up and fully remember where he was, he only managed to catch the last part of her announcement...

Well, at least he heard the important part! Assuming the announcement was about their first class, Toma hopped out of his bed, stretching his arms and legs. More than a few crumbs from his late-night snacking cascaded to the floor as he did so.

[color=a36209]"Morning Finn - I'm not taking a shower, but I'm going to clean up the bathroom real fast if you need to."[/color]

Toma was used to taking showers maybe once a week, and while he wanted to bathe at least once a day to fit in with his wealthy classmates, Toma didn't really feel comfortable taking one and risking being late for class.

Besides, he took a shower last night - surely that'd be good enough until lunch. What mattered more was getting his uniform ready.

But when Toma walked into the bathroom, ready to clean his uniform of leftover donkey feces as quickly as possible, he found... nothing. Well, nothing out of place - the room looked just like it did the first time Toma saw it, with no sign of his sullied uniform in sight, the floor cleaner than the bowls that Toma had in his pack.

Toma had only ever heard of magic from the stories that Tarkus told him - and while the old Paladin seemed so fond of the fireballs and rays of light that spellcasters used so often, Toma was starting to grow infatuated with this 'convenience magic' or whatever it was that the academy used to amaze him. Maybe he could take a magic class and learn some of these tricks? A cleaning spell would have given him so much more time to play when he was younger.

Walking out of the bathroom, Toma checked the drawer - and as he expected, Toma found a perfectly clean uniform. He couldn't tell if it was a new uniform, or it was cleaned so thoroughly it just appeared new. Either way, it fits him perfectly, and Toma began packing one of his smaller bags with any equipment he felt he needed for class. A few filled waterskins, some snacks, a candle or two, a flint...

What did you need for class? Toma had never been in formal education, so he really didn't know what to bring. His hand hovered over one of his few vials of holy water, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Tarkus only left him a few of those, and he wasn't eager to accidentally drop and break them.

Pulling his bag over the same shoulder as his baldric, Toma made his way to the door. Suddenly, he remembered his roommate - reaching into his pack, he pulled out one of his bread rolls and tossed it at the foot of Finn's bed.

[color=a36209]"In case you get hungry and don't have time to get breakfast - I'm going to stop by the stables and visit Oats, but I'll say hi to you in class."[/color]

[hr]
Oats seemed to have been quite annoyed to be awoken so early in the morning - and when he realized that his master didn't come with treats this time, he ignored the young man's attention and went back to sleep. Toma was just glad that the stables at the academy seemed to be as well cared for as the rest of its facilities. Making sure his donkey didn't wake up and being extra careful to avoid another manure pile, Toma made his way for the Hall of Combat - he wasn't used to the layout of the school yet, but luckily the map-scroll from yesterday was still working. 

Despite his detour to the stables, Toma was still among the early arrivals. It was to be expected - he left the feast earlier than he would have liked, but from what he saw, more than a few students were drinking pretty heavily. Toma silently thanked his past self - he could handle his alcohol better than most his age, but he was no dwarf. Maybe if most of the students were hungover, the teacher would go easy on them and Toma could catch up to the others...

Eventually, everyone arrived, and Toma quickly realized that he was one of the few that brought a bag. Hopefully he wouldn't get in trouble...

Several of the senior staff were present. The man, Vermont Baleth, had a name that Toma recognized somewhat. He had no clue where he recognized it - he had never met the man before, and he hadn't spoken during the feast. Toma was a little too distracted to remember. Next to Baleth was the Drow, putting Toma a little on edge. While she was attractive quite attractive, Toma had heard many stories about how the Drow treated other races, especially the men - although, according to his father, 'Drow men had it the worst.' The masked man... Well, Toma didn't feel as creeped out by him.

[color=c0c0c0]"...The third rule, is that anyone who fails this class will be removed from the school for at least a year. So don't fail. And the fourth rule....is that you'd better keep up." [/color]

It took nearly a second for the young Paladin to realize what was happening. Almost instantly, he dropped his bag and quickly grabbed a waterskin from it, before immediately running after his instructor. While the threat of expulsion was intimidating, Toma was actually a little relieved - if it was a writing assessment, Toma would have been in serious trouble. He wasn't the fastest. Hell, he wasn't even the fastest back in his village. But when it came to Stamina, Toma felt confident that he wouldn't be the last person in the class...

Toma was right. After a few minutes of running, he was near the middle of the herd of students, but he could already see a few students near him beginning to slow down. It helped that among all the students, it seemed Toma was one of the few that had water. Hell, many of the students probably didn't eat yet, and Toma felt he had energy to spare. Even with those advantages, the Instructor was still leading the pack, dressed in full plate and running in the sand. Toma was really starting to wonder if the man was as old as he looked...

Suddenly, a pained gasp from near the back of the group. Toma turned his head, just as he heard someone ahead swear loudly. A human student was lying on the ground, clutching their side. Next to them was a large mace, and they had seemed to have modified their uniform somewhat - it seemed he wasn't a runner, and his larger weapon had slowed him down. Toma would have thought the taller student would be faster, but maybe he wasn't taking the class as seriously. Or he was teasing one of the students in the back...

It almost seemed like everyone slowed down except Baleth had slowed down, if only to gawk at the audacity of the masked instructor. As he began to reach for another arrow from his quiver, everyone began to speed back up again, redoubling their efforts to keep ahead of one another.

Toma frowned. Looks like this wasn't going to be easy as he thought - endurance wouldn't help if he ended up near the back and was being pelted by arrows. Even if they weren't tipped, they could easily make a student slow down and get left behind. At his current pace though, Toma wouldn't have to worry - he didn't need to be at the head of the group, just ahead of the slower students.

Toma turned around, quickly racing to the student that got knocked down. Toma grabbed his arm and yanked the other man to his feet as he spoke.

[color=a36209]"C'mon, hurry - grab your mace after class, you don't need the weight."[/color]

As soon as the injured student got to his feet, he pushed off of Toma, knocking the paladin on his ass.

"Thanks for the help, dumbass! See you in a year!"

Toma looked to his side - luckily, the student had taken his advice and left the mace behind. Toma could already see the student catching up to the others, running much faster than before. Toma began to get to his feet, but the masked instructor loosed another arrow. It struck Toma in the side, knocking the breath out of his lungs and causing him to fall again.

Toma learned his lesson and got up faster, ignoring the burning in his chest. He broke into a faster run, eager to catch up to the class that had gained a respectable distance on him. After maybe a dozen seconds, another arrow was nocked. Toma suddenly remembered a story Tarkus told quite often - he had once known a Paladin from his order that would slice an arrow out of the air if asked. Toma unsheathed his sword as he saw the arrow was about to release.

[sub][i]Light, Justice, Vigilance... Light, Justice, Vigil-[/i][/sub]

Toma swung the sword, and it cleaved through the air with ease. A half-second later, the arrow hit Toma in the legs, knocking the man to the ground again and making him drop his sword. Of course it didn't work - even if it was a pretty lucky first try, Toma was far too unskilled with a sword to do something so advanced. And even if he could pull it off the speed Toma lost wasn't worth it if it just resulted in him falling. Getting to his feet was harder this time - even if they were blunted, an arrow from a good bowman could move very fast. And this instructor was a [i]very [/i]good bowman. 

Toma grabbed his blade and kept running, sheathing it as he did so. He was closing the distance pretty quickly, but even after such a short run, he was breathing heavily. If he was less tough, he'd probably have worse than a few bruises. Toma would have to make sure he didn't get knocked down again - a few more good hits and he'd slow down too much to catch back up. Looking ahead, it seemed the student that fell earlier was near the middle of the group - he and Toma seemed to have traded positions.

When Toma saw the instructor ready another arrow, he internally groaned.

[i][color=a36209]'Why the hell did I do that...'[/color][/i]