[center][h1]Chapter Four: Teach a Man to Fish[/h1][/center][hr][center][h3]Taldes, Vardes 28, Dami-Zept 54[/h3][/center][hr][hr]The hours of Eshiran gave way to the hours of Dami and those, in turn, the hours of Ipte. Students slept - most of them, anyways. Zenos, Arch-Zenos, and world leaders slept, yet Ersand'Enise was alive at night, subtly alive in ways that its founders had never anticipated. Owls hunted in the trees of the arboretum, geese honked and flapped on Hedda's Lake, and the shingled spires of the city's great buildings played host to all manner of crows and ravens, who looked down upon the humans with the instinct and disinterest of animals.

For the second night in a row, the highest light in the Forked Tower blazed into the blackness and mist clung to the walls and houses. Sailors stumbled out of the taverns, up and down the gangplanks of ships. The great, groaning light pulsed across the sea, with its churning waves and jagged reefs and cold, dark waters. In the shadowed alleys and filthy hovels of Mudville, money changed hands, hooded figures met and conspired, and a bedraggled-looking ex-Zeno attempted to sell potions and sealed items of dubious quality to those who passed his humble shop. Eventually, however, even Mudville fell into an uneasy semi-silence. Flags hung limp on their posts. Rats scampered through the trash. Four moons shone like mismatched eyes in the gloom.

But then came the sun, and banished these visions of the night. It started as a shy glow and became inevitable. Sharp shadows yawned and stretched across the plazas and rooftops. People did the same, within their houses and bedrooms. Ersand'Enise awoke, though its sleep had always been light and fitful. 

The fishermen were always first on the streets. There were servants, sweepers, and vendors. Today, however, they were joined by flocks of Zenos. The learned mages fluttered out from their homes, papers and scrolls in hand, on a yearly pilgrimage to Balthazar Hall to submit their students' course selections. 

The students rose early as well. Some had slept better than the others, but it was natural for there to be a sort of anticipation in the air. They dressed, they ate, and some even bathed. They said their goodbyes, for some would likely not see each other again until their next weekend at the Zeno's. 

Then, the young scholars headed off to Balthazar Hall, where all had been advised to pick up their schedules. So they gathered in those long lines, which - Thank Dami - at least moved fairy quickly. It was fertile soil for gossip, bravado, flirtation, and other, more innocent forms of conversation, but especially the first. It seemed as if at least some of their number had encountered something... [i]interesting [/i]in the morning. However, when students finally received their [url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Kr2vxFjXoFJQcz3L9-rsDwysQ0shSz3XbKDMI3p7qP0/edit?usp=sharing]schedules[/url] and the keys to their dormitory rooms, they were hustled off to class for all manner of orientations just the same. There, the youths found faces both new and familiar.

There, they found that they all shared a pair of classes and they either learned or did not learn. Zander Mozaru tested them immediately and confidentially. He wanted to see where they were at but had no patience for any trying to humiliate their peers. Alcaster Serra played a word game with the youths to put them at ease and asked them at the start of class to choose an adjective in their native tongues to describe themselves and in Avincian at the end of class. He also stroked his beard a great deal. He seemed greatly fond of that or else it was a nervous habit. In the afternoon, they met their magic specialty instructors. Sectoxomactex boasted of his many exploits and demonstrated a few high level spells before encouraging his students to show him what they could do. Randan Kedd explained how magic was a science and how any of them could master it so long as they could read and put in a solid effort. He dismissed them early since it was their first day. Luria Colloy gave them readings and lightning rods. Born-on-Solstice held her class outdoors, under the 'Mother Sun' and did wellness activities. Jurgen Mendenhoffer drilled them like they were soldiers but then let them go early, while Alois Lascand droned on about their solemn duty as Binders. Tannifer Marbrand had them draw nearly to capacity and blow things up on their first day, and there was a dark kind of glee in her eyes as they did so. Some students, however, were fortunate enough not to be taught by mere Zenos, but by one of the eight Arch-Zenos of the Academy. Ardredelle Latvar guided her students through rudimentary chemistry and, by the end of class, had each other able to induce a feeling of hunger within a preying mantis. Giacomo Giarrone had each of them share why they'd wanted to be binders, despite the school's sometimes unsavoury reputation. He gave them cookies and told them that there would be plenty of hard work ahead and that they should see to their sleep and health for the time being. So that was what they did. Once their orientations were over, the students ate, they chatted, they explored, skipped, and sauntered through the academy grounds and the city. 

The chaos of this first real day of academics was a longstanding tradition, and perhaps practice for the (in)famous Trials of Ersand'Enise, which would be kicking off in less than two weeks, on Verdimas, the Day of Skills. In this spirit, they endeavoured to read maps, ask questions and figure out where they would be staying and who they would be staying with. They retrieved their bags from their Master Zenos' homes, the basement storage rooms of Balthazar Hall, or the private arrangements that they had made. The dormitories were divided by class: noble, merchant, and everyone else. That this arrangement served to separate some friend groups spoke well of the world that these young people were building, at least from a certain perspective. Others, however, found themselves very near to their friends or even sharing rooms. It was an exciting time indeed and, were the elaborate preparations for the Conclave of the Five Thrones that they had passed in Arc-en-Ciel Hall any indication, tomorrow's events would only add to it.  

[hr][center][h3]Resources[/h3][/center][hr][hider=Summary][list][*]Night is quiet and spooky in the city and a bit more lively in Mudville, where shifty things are going on, including a former Zeno selling Binding(?) items.
[*]The Zenos wake up very early to bring your selections to Balthazar Hall and your course timetables are created.
[*]Students socialize in line and receive timetables, maps, and keys to their dorms.
[*]Class orientations take place. Compare schedules to see who you're with! Coordinate!
[*]Class ends, people pick up their belongings, and move into their dorms.
[*]Tomorrow should be exciting too![/list][/hider]
[hider=Class Schedules][center][h3][url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Kr2vxFjXoFJQcz3L9-rsDwysQ0shSz3XbKDMI3p7qP0/edit?usp=sharing]All class schedules.[/url][/h3][/center][/hider]
[hider=Instructor Profiles][center][h3][url=https://imgur.com/gallery/6gaOsQK]Find them all here.[/url][/h3][/center][/hider]
[hider=Your Choices][list][*]You may cover as much or as little of the day as you wish, focusing on what [i]you[/i] think is most interesting. 
[*]You will be able to choose your neighbours or roommates (within the class divisions, of course). I'm giving you that responsibility. 
[*]This is a good opportunity to coordinate with each other, introduce any player NPCs you may have thought of, or use some of the NPCs outlined in the spreadsheet under 'Apprentice Groups'.[/list][/hider]
[hider=Telling the Time][center][h2]Hours, Minutes, and Seconds[/h2][/center]

Constantia, Severa, and Tarlon enjoy a standardized method of telling the time and, aided by the popularity of Kerreman clockwork, this has spread to Rettan and parts of Callanast over the past century, also becoming commonplace there. In this conception of time, there are 25 hours in a day divided into five sections. 

[b]HI -[/b] The five Hours of Ipte (HI) occupy the latest and most remote part of the night, when most people are in the embrace of sleep and the few who aren't are usually... up to things. 
[i]Example: 2:15 HI[/i]

[b]HS -[/b] The five hours of Shune (HS) occupy the period from first light into later morning, when most people awaken, start to think,  and become productive. 
[i]Example: 3:30 HS[/i]

[b]HO -[/b] The five hours of Oraff (HO) occupy the period from late morning through the early afternoon, when life is at its busiest, most flourishing, and most productive. 
[i]Example: 5:48 HO[/i]

[b]HE -[/b] The five hours of Eshiran (HE) occupy the period from later afternoon until dusk, when the daylight dies and people's main activities conclude along with it.
[i]Example: 1:07 HE[/i]

[b]HD -[/b] The five Hours of Dami (HD) occupy the period from just after sunset until the later hours of the night, when people go to sleep, reflecting on their day and what comes tomorrow. 
[i]Example: 2:36 HD[/i]

There are fifty seconds to a minute, but each of these is about 1.4 Earth seconds. Hours are fifty minutes long and, as mentioned above, each section of the day has five. These begin at 1:00 and go up to 5:49. Then, it'll be 1:00 in the next section.[/hider]