Mages and vampires were seperated quickly after entering the grounds. Some hesitated, wary to leave the only barely familiar thing they had here. The Mages were directed towards a large building close by, large faintly glowing letters declaring it the Rose Hall. It was a short walk but it did give people the time to look around campus. Some people were faring better than others, chatting away animatedly as excitement shone off their faces and their hands wove in time to their tales. One girl in particular, shorter than most and unabashedly leading the pack, seemed to vibrate with excitement as they made their way across the grounds. Others spoke more quietly, nervous and shy as they cast curious looks at the older students. And some completely withdrew, keeping to themselves entirely. More than one in this group wore a chain or leather strap around their necks, keeping their eyes down and shoulders folded in. One boy in particular kept his head high even as his face burned red, eyes forward and mouth set in a determined line.
Magic buzzed in the air as mages rushed about and practiced. Two girls danced in unison, creating shimmering trails of colored light as they twirled around each other. Another whisper quietly into a pot and roses grew rapidly before the group’s eyes. Several mages sat in a circle on the grass, correcting arcane spell pronunciation and creating small shimmering shields as examples. There was an ever present murmuring, the sign of life and energy, as the mages brought fantastic effect after fantastic effect into reality.
Until a red headed mage, a lit cigarette in a wildly gesturing hand and a cell phone against his ear, walked by. Despite his relaxed look, wearing a comfortable t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, and the grin on his face, the area went silent and still. One by one, the groups and people stepped quickly out of his way though he paid them no mind. Whispers erupted in his wake,even as the grin shifted into a soft, almost private smile as he hung up. He took another drag on the cigarette before he crushed it in his hand, bright flames licking around his fingers, then shook the ashes off his palm. He disappeared towards the vampire orientation group and the whispering died down but not before someone heard the phrase “vampire killer.”
As the group reached the Rose Hall, the sound of a murmuring brook signaled the arrival of a watery construct. A small bird shape water bubble flew above the group before suddenly diving and weaving through the crowd. A glance at it showed a boy, with blue hair and piercing blue eyes, looking at you and he held a finger over his lips with a mischievous smirk on his face before the image vanished as the bird moved on in the group. The excited girl at the front was boasting loudly about her older brother, a water mage just like her, as the bird suddenly dive bombed her. The girl’s monologue quickly turned to a shrill shriek as the cold water dropped on her, drenching her thoroughly, and she turned and shook her fist at the night shouting, “You’re a third rate mage with fourth rate constructs! I’m coming for your ass River! Just you wait!” The group was quickly usher into the rose tiled building after that.
The group turned into a large auditorium, ten rows of plush seats set in front of the stage and free space behind it filled with a variety of tables. A mix of what seemed to be older students and faculty milled there chatting before turning to watch the new arrivals file in. The faculty guiding the new arrivals quickly guided the group into the seating and took their places at the end of the rows. Several faculty members stepped up onto the stage, an elderly gentleman taking his place at the podium, and a hush fell over the auditorium as the lights dimmed everywhere but the podium.
“Welcome mages to the Noila Academy! I am Headmaster Kiran Kotyo, head of magical studies here at the Academy. During you time here, I hope to get to know each one of you personally as possible so you can feel at home. For now however, I am here to give you a peek into what your future holds!” The headmaster paused, coughing and sipping at a glass of water, before clearing his throat.
“From today onwards, the Noila Academy will be preparing you to handle any challenge that comes your way and allow you to explore subjects that interest you for the future while teaching you safe and careful casting practices. As you clear the required classwork and prove your master over your magic, you will have the opportunity to organize your own schedule, focusing in the subjects your prefer. Most have this opportunity in their second year. If you excel however, you may find yourselves selecting elective courses next semester. I’ve found its an excellent motivator for those who strongly dislike calculus.” He coughed several times again.
“My apologies. Age has a tendency to catch up with us all.” The previous smile he wore faded away into a much more serious expression.
“At least with those of us in this room. On that subject, every mage was paired with a vampire for the duration of your career here at the Noila Academy. The Princess’s policy expressly forbids the faculty from interfering in student relationships unless the chance for loss of life or serious injury is high. It is both mage’s and vampire’s responsibility to overcome differences and develop a mutually beneficial working relationship with one another. That being said,” the headmaster looked around, making eye contact with every person in the audience,
“The Academy does not condone unwarranted abuse. Princess Ryner hand selected most of the faculty members of this school, going out of her way to pick progressive thinking vampires on the matter of vampire/mage relationships. In turn, these vampires and their mages have developed successful methods to minimize conflict. We have tools to help if something is wrong. Reach out to one of us privately if you need help.” The headmaster took another drink of water and a smile slipped back on his face.
“As for your social-” The headmaster jumped a little as the door everyone entered through slammed open once again. A pleasant breeze, carrying the faint scent of a floral perfume, swirled giddily around the new students. A faint tapping could be heard, muffled on the carpeted floor, as a woman strode in gold staff in hand beaming up at the stage and then to the new students as she made her way to the podium. She seemed to make eye contact with someone in the student body and winked. The breeze that swirled around the students shifted back to her, swishing the bottom of her dark blue cotton wrap dress, decorated with gold embroidery at the waist. It swirled around the gold hair fork, designed like an old celtic knot, in her hair and her gold and sapphire teardrop earrings before swirling excitedly back into the crowd. Some recognized her as one of the mages who escorted Princess Ryner the evening before.
As the woman neared the stage, she took a step up and continued as if the air itself was a stairway. She leaned over and murmured something in the headmaster’s ear, covering the podium microphone, and the older man nodded. Then with the faintest whisper of an incantation, he vanished. Sariel seemed unphased and instead turned to face the student body, grinning.
“Well now that the old man is gone why don’t we have a little more fun.” She winked at everyone with a giggle.
“Let me introduce myself and then we’ll get you out of your chairs because sitting down all evening and listening to old people talk about things they don’t do is literally the least exciting thing you can do!” The group of faculty members behind her gave her flat looks that she pointedly ignored. “My name is Sariel Asiree, personal guard and assistant to Princess Ryner herself. As you may have guessed, I am an air affinity mage. I graduated from Noila Academy just two years ago so I have a bit more insight into what your time here is going to be like than these old farts.” She giggled again.
“The Noila Academy is exciting and fun if you do it right. When I discovered my potential at the Awakening, I wanted to run. I wanted to follow in my family’s footsteps and go into preschool education. Waaay off the mark there huh? Instead, I got an invitation here and after a few week, I never thought about turning back.” Sariel sat down on the edge of the stage, crossing her ankles and kicking the stage lightly.
“The people you meet here and the friends you make will follow you through your whole life. And honestly, they might be some of the only friends you make. You’re a Noila Academy mage. That's intimidating to a lot of people. People will put you on a pedestal, be jealous and petty So find friends. People who, when push comes to shove, will stand through the thick and thin of it all. Because those friends are who will support you behind closed doors.” Sariel made little effort to conceal the stress of the last sentence. “Anyways, the next piece of advice I have for you is get your partners to be friends too! My besties and I used to have sleepovers all the time because we pushed for our partners to form friendships. Word to the wise, vampires are sulky creatures. Don’t let them be and you’ll actually be able to have fun. What else, what else.” Sariel hummed to herself a little, thinking.
“You’ll have four years to hear about all the boring academic stuff, no need to put you to sleep about all that. Oh! You all do have guidance councillors, you are assigned to them by last name so feel free to pop into the main administrative building to say hi to them eventually. They’ll call you in every now and then to check on you and keep you on track with the boring school things.” She clapped her hands together excitedly and stood with a flourish.
“And I think with that, we should get the main event started! Behind you, you probably noticed plenty of tables and more than a few older students. They’re all here to welcome you and talk to you about campus life and give you advice on how to handle some of your vampire related problems because, let’s be honest, we all know you have some! The students back there are set up at tables that represent different clubs on campus and we have several wandering around who will answer magic related questions. If you want to talk to someone about a particular element, just find a name tag that says the element! Those guys will stay up here at the stage so you can find them more easily! And although I’m not technically a speaker or part of this at all, I love to talk so feel free to come say hi to me too!” She stood up dramatically, a gust of wind following her movements as she swept her arm out across the room and shouted
“Be free my minions!” The faculty behind her was not amused but made no effort to stop her.
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The faculty quickly separated the vampires from their companions, guiding them towards several buildings further away. The vampires into clear layers. At the front, some purebloods chatted and laughed with the ease of those used to these circumstances, with the ease of those comfortable in their own skin and aware of their place in the world. Other purebloods obviously just stumbled out of bed minutes before and strangled a little behind the group and bled into the trailing Embraced. These vampires only comprised a fifth of the group, numbering just ten, and they moved cautiously. Many had their shoulders hunched, eyes trained on the group, arms crossed as if they were trying to collapse in on themselves. Many of them struggled to accept their new place, turned unknowingly or unwillingly, while others accept their fates with grim resignation. A terrible thing it is to hunt those you used to be. Three faculty members followed the group, keeping a close tab on the Embraced specifically.
The vampire leading the group, a sharp looking vampire in Noila colors with a metal name tag reading “Headmaster Alder Noila”, took them across campus. Several students dashed across the campus in a desperate attempt to get to class on time. Others wandered leisurely and conversed with their peers, most sending curious glances towards the orientation group. A few vampires stared openly and others burst into a flurry of whispers. More that a few bowed and curtsied as the group passed by.
Still some skimmed over the group and looked away uninterested. One such pair stood pushed up against a lamp post on the same path. A male vampire dressed in a leather jacket and pants, red hair cut short and all angular features,smokey red eyes, and fair skin, cast an apathetic look towards the group before returning to the petite mage whose arms were wrapped around his neck. The contrast was appealing, this bright skinned, nape length white hair, and blue eyed girl and the bad boy vampire kissing passionately as she drew his attentions back to her before she blindly reached into the bag slung over one of the vampire’s shoulder and plucked out a textbook. She left him with a much more chaste peck on the lips and bolted away. The Headmaster brought the group to a halt.
“That display was entirely inappropriate Mr. Sputnik. I will see you in my office after your next class.” Alder snapped at the man. The vampire chuckled, deep and smooth, and sauntered away with a shrug. His eyes roamed the new vampires and he threw a wink here and there. An attractive smile spread across his face as he spotted Amaris. His gaze turned hungry for a moment and then he moved on. He licked his lips and gave Morrigan the same treatment before another vampire glided up behind him, smacked him over the head with a sharp thwack, and proceeded to lecture him about manners as they left.
“I would recommend you avoid that troublemaker and his mages if you wish to succeed here at the Academy.” Alder spoke to the group and continued on. He led the group into the Mockingbird hall and into a room similar to the mages’ auditorium. Unlike the Rose Hall’s auditorium, there were four seats in the front with the noble families’ crest on the back. A hush fell over the milling students. Alder snapped his fingers and the trailing faculty quickly guided everyone to their seats while Alder silently showed the nobles to their respective seats. A cacophony of poorly muffled muttering erupted as they did. Alder stepped up on the stage and took his place at the podium while looking down at the vampires with a haughty expression.
“First and foremost, I wish to clear any rumors or speculation that you may have heard. Sitting before you are members of the four noble houses, the first to attend the Academy in nearly a century. Count Dominique Astorio, Countess Arianna Eve, Count Varis Sinnenodel, and Countess Amari Marivaldi graciously agreed to attend our fine establishment and I hope each and everyone one of you welcomes them warmly.” The vampire allowed the murmuring to die down before continuing.
“I am Count Alder Noila, a distant relative of Princess Nox and Headmaster of vampiric studies here at the Academy. Our goal here at Noila Academy is to guide you into vampires who are worth of representing your family but also the Academy. During your time here, you will amass knowledge, skills, and connections that will last you the rest of your eternal life.” Alder looked over the group and then at the nobles.
“Unlike previous generations of Academy students, you have an additional resource to assist with developing those connections. The noble representatives are excellent role models and I would recommend you use that to your advantage.” He stepped away from the podium, walking forward to the end of the stage and stood with his arms crossed behind him.
“Du “Mages are, and you will learn in greater detail in your classes, complex entities that require care and nurturing to bring them to their full potential. However, this is a difficult task because they lack a certain realism that comes when mortality is of no concern. Mages are hasty and impulsive and you will need to learn to curb in those instincts for the better. As their caretakers, we have to guide them with a critical eye and a firm hand so they are ultimately successful. And when a mage is successful, so will their vampire.”ring your years at the Academy, you will be molded to be leaders and thinkers of this world while learning how to handle yourselves in the face of adversary. And the greatest challenge will be the mage you were paired with at the entrance ceremony. These mages are more than just things,toys to be played with or resources to be exploited.” The headmaster frowned as he looked out at the crowd, making eye contact with Dominique and Varis.
“That is not to say abusive behavior in the name of “guidance” is acceptable. Although we will not step in between students unless there is high risk of serious injury or loss of life, we have an active security team who has no issue dissuading these issues from cropping up. You will learn to *responsibly* manage your mage’s life and career, for the betterment of both your lives. Everyone in this room will have taken a variety of mandatory class for the proper care of mages through their entire lives. There are also several elective classes on the subject which I encourage everyone to attend.” Alder gave everyone a stern look before returning to the podium.
“As for academic courses, we have a variety for both the purebloods and the Embraced.” It was only a moment, half really, but he paused on the word Embraced along with the slightest sneer before settling back into professional apathy.
“Due to the standard difference in education between purebloods and the Embraced, we offer classes at every level of complexity. We provide guidance counselors to guide you through the process. You are assigned to them by last name and their offices are in the main administrative office. I highly recommend acquainting yourself with both your and your mage’s counselors once your mage returns to you. After your first year, most students declare an area of interest, which allows your counselors to better help you in developing an academic path. This area of interest isn’t a firm guide as to what you must study but rather an expressed intent to learn more about that area in depth. Your counselor will be calling you in to discuss these things further within the next few months.” “For those of you with a more active interest, we host a variety of classes for sports, specialized weapons training, survival skills, and etiquette training. You will have the opportunity to enroll in these just as you would academic courses. Certificates of completion accompany those who pass these classes, or the mastery level of the class, and are accepted everywhere outside of the Academy. Furthermore, the Academy hosts a variety of workshops monthly and any student can enroll in them regardless of experience. These are an excellent way to gauge your interest in a subject before signing up for a semester of it so please take advantage of the resource.” Alder cleared his throat.
“While on the subject of physical activity, you will no doubt hear of the Arena from other students soon enough. This area is for mock combat and combat tournaments. The formal club, creatively dubbed the Arena Guild, organizes formal tournaments and practice times. Speak to one of their members for rules and regulations for participation. Students also use traditional duels, both magic and mundane, to settle disagreements. Although perhaps not the most effective manner, the school encourages this both as a way for mages and vampires to gain experience and settle issues in a way that is safe and secure environment. For more information, please speak to the Arena master after this.” “With that I wish to welcome you to the Academy.The table behind you hold information on a variety of student run organizations for you to engage with. Myself and your councilors will be up here on stage if you have any academic questions.” Alder gestured to the vampires behind him, each holding a little sign designating A-G, H-N, O-U,or V-Z.
“You are dismissed. You may leave the hall once the bell rings.”
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