Footsteps grew closer, and the main entrance closed behind the figure, dispelling the sunlight. It was a girl... White hair, a dazzling white dress with golden accents. She walked elegantly, the sheathed sword in her hand sweeping lightly across the floor like a cane. Upon her face was a white blindfold; her skin was fair and her lips red. My gaze wandered across her.
"Is she blind?" I asked.
Hearing no response, I looked around. To my surprise, I found the other candidates all frozen, staring intently at her. Even Sylus had taken his eyes off the runes for a moment. I hesitated for a moment until Sebastian's voice broke the silence.
"The heir of House Arclight..."
I eyed him, realizing what he had said. I looked at Ersa; she gulped slightly, fidgeting with her dress. Ava stood still, eyes fixated on her, not moving at all. Sylus pushed his glasses up, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead before he looked back at the runes.
"Arclight... Like the Arclight whose estate we passed when we entered the city?"
"Precisely... She's on the complete opposite end of the scale as you."
I eyed him.
"Anyways, I heard she was a candidate this year... But to be in the same registration group... I would have never expected it."
My eyes fell upon her as she made her way down the hallway.
"Sorry for making everyone wait," the girl said, her voice echoing through the room.
Her voice was slightly higher than mine, warm and soothing, unlike Ava's energetic tone or Ersa's colder one.
"Lady Arclight, it's a pleasure. Please come here so I can register you."
The girl smiled, walking forward. She approached the desk, and the clerk talked with her.
Looking at Ava, she broke out of her trance, her head slowly turning to look at me. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
"That's the heir of the Arclight family!" She whispered loudly.
"I've figured that out," I said, taking her hands off my shoulders.
Ava looked at me and then at Sylus, kicking him slightly.
"Sylus, stand up, off the ground! We have to leave a good impression!"
He shrugged, pulling a magnifying glass out of his pocket and examining the runes more closely. Ava's face turned red.
"SYLUS! I will steal your glasses again if you don't stand up right now! Don't test me..."
Sylus turned his neck, looking up at his sister, her eyes glaring daggers at him. He shivered slightly before slowly standing up. He lowered his head as he stood next to her.
"Alright, Ava, sorry."
I giggled slightly. Ava's eyes fell upon me. "How can you be so calm!?" she said, her fingers tracing across her dress to make sure it was perfect.
"Well, it's not that I'm calm; it's just that I don't really mind."
"How can you not mind?!" she questioned.
"Well, as some people have already established, I'm at the bottom of the hierarchy here." I glared at Sebastian and Ersa.
"You are," Sebastian sneered.
Ersa crossed her arms. "You're just a commoner with some... cool abilities; it changes nothing," she huffed.
"If I'm already an ant to nobles, then there's no point pretending otherwise. I'll just be myself, get stronger, and stop caring about what people think of me."
I will get into Crownspire, no matter what noble I have to surpass.
The white-haired girl paused slightly, tilting her head for a moment before continuing to talk to the clerk.
Ava looked at me. "Hmph, that's a good way to look at it, but a simple ant can always become a great warrior, as long as they work hard enough."
I smiled at her.
"Pfft, ants are either born as workers, soldiers, or the queen. Your analogy doesn't even make sense, Ava Vaelmont," Ersa laughed into her hands.
Ava looked at her angrily.
"You get what I'm trying to say, right, Luna?"
I nodded.
After a few minutes, she finished registering and headed toward the teleportation array. Smiling, I hurried towards her.
Ava reached out but missed. "Luna! What are you doing?"
Ersa's eyes fell upon me along with Sebastian's, both widening. In sync, they opened their mouths.
"She's crazy..."
I looked back. "Don't worry about it."
I walked quickly up to the girl and held out my hand.
"I'm Luna! Nice to meet you!"
The girl stopped suddenly, her eyebrow slightly raised.
She bowed.
"Nice to be acquainted, Luna. I am Celestine Arclight."
I looked at my outstretched hand and then back at her.
Oh... She can't see.
I pulled my hand back and fidgeted slightly. Looking back at Ava, I saw she looked like she had seen a ghost. She kicked Sylus and whispered into his ear.
She chuckled. "Yes, I can't see, so you don't have to do those formalities with me."
I looked at her, my eyes widening.
Did I say that out loud?
She smiled. "No, you didn't, but you did think it."
I looked at her, my mouth falling open.
"You can read my mind!?" I shouted.
No way...
"Yes way," she responded.
"That's amazing!" I yelled out.
Is that your skill?
"It is."
"That actually worked. I asked a question without saying it, and you responded!"
She nodded her head slightly.
"You're strange; most people would be terrified to talk to me."
"Well, I'm not most people."
Her head tilted. "I guess you aren't."
She extended her hand to me. "Would you mind attaching this for me?"
Reaching out, I grabbed the emblem, my fingers brushing against her soft skin.
"No problem."
I grabbed her dress and pierced the fabric with the metal, attaching the emblem. She bowed her head.
"Thank you."
No problem!
She smiled.
"Can I see your system?"
She thought for a second. "Sure, but I actually haven't seen my real system, so what's on the candidate's system is just what I believe to have, and I'm not sure of their levels."
She felt along her chest and tapped on the emblem.
"I've been appraised recently, though, so the levels listed should be close to my current abilities."
Name: CelestineLevel: 8Family: ArclightMagical Affinity: Divine
Skills:
Intrinsic Skills:Mindreading Lv9
Passive Skills:Swordsmanship Lv9
"Divine!?" I yelled out.
Isn't that the opposite of my Demonic Affinity?
She paused for a second. "You have Demonic?!"
"Yeah, and you have Divine!"
She smiled. "Awesome."
She turned her head towards the array. "Well, I hate to hold us up any longer."
She walked past me and towards the teleportation array. Her sheath traced back and forth against the floor until it hit the small step right before the entrance. She stepped up and walked into the array. Ersa and Sebastian moved out of the way as she entered, letting her stand in the middle of the array, close to Ava.
Following behind her, I stood in between her and Ava. Looking at Ava, she gave me a thumbs-up, a large smile on her face. I gave her a thumbs-up back and heard Celestine chuckle slightly beside me.
Sylus stood in the very back of the array, his eyes wandering along the walls. Ersa and Sebastian stood at the front. And in the middle were Ava, Celestine and me.
"Good evening to you all. Sebastian... Ersa Wintermere, and Ava... Sylus Vaelmont. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Sebastian scratched his head. "Nice to meet you, Lady Arclight."
She smiled. "Just call me Celestine."
He tensed slightly. "Um, alright..."
Next, Ersa looked at her, hands clasped behind her back. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Celestine."
Celestine smiled.
"Um... ha, ni-nice to meet you too!" Ava blurted out, her face turning red.
"Same here," Sylus said nonchalantly from behind. Ava glared at him and kicked his foot.
"Um, I mean, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
He rubbed his foot slightly.
Celestine chuckled.
The clerk stepped up to us.
"I wish you all luck!" Her eyes locked with mine as she finished speaking.
Inserting something into the wall, the door to the array closed, and a large light appeared from above.
"Fascinating..." Sylus said, his head snapping to watch the light.
My eyes watched as the walls began to glow and pulsate. The air grew heavy for a moment before we began to float. I looked back; Sylus's hand traced against the wall. The light above began to beat, growing brighter each time. I squinted as the whole room was engulfed. My hand reached out and locked with Ava's.
"Isn't this fun!?" she yelled out.
With a final flash, I felt my body vibrate. Light streaked all around us, leading to a dark opening. We fell quickly, and as we reached the dark opening, I felt gravity return. I tumbled slightly, nudging Ersa in the back. She turned slightly and glared at me. I shivered.
"Sorry!"
She crossed her arms. I looked around. For a moment, I thought we hadn't moved at all. The room surrounding us was nearly identical to the one we'd just left, but something about it felt different. In front of me, the array door opened, and light shone in. The beam traced along my face; I covered my eyes with my arm. The two Wintermeres walked forward; Ava followed, dragging Sylus along.
So this is Crownspire... I need to succeed. I can't let them down.
I hesitated, but a hand pulled me forward. Celestine dragged me out.
"Don't worry, you won't let anyone down."
I smiled and followed her out. Walking beside her, she traced her sheath against the floor. Looking around, my mind went blank. We stood in a large stone bazaar surrounded by a large garden full of massive trees, beautiful flowers, and animals. A massive coliseum-like structure enclosed us, with many doors like the one we had just come through.
Stepping into the bazaar, a massive crowd stood within it. The crowd was dense, full of similarly aged girls and boys. Walking into the crowd, I tensed slightly as their eyes seemed to fall upon our group.
"The Vaelmonts!"
"He's so handsome..."
"The Vaelmont girl is gorgeous too! She rejected my marriage proposal though..."
"Who cares? Look at the Wintermeres! So cold and mysterious..."
"Wait... is that Celestine Arclight!?"
"Omg it is her!"
"Lady Arclight, look over here!"
I shuddered slightly as screams echoed through the crowd.
Ava looked back at me.
"Don't worry, it's just a bunch of smaller houses."
I smiled and looked back into the crowd, a small circle beginning to form around us.
"Who did Ava Vaelmont just talk to!?"
"What house is she? Why is she so close to Lady Arclight?"
"No, look at her... She can't be a noble; her clothes are so cheap!"
I grabbed my shirt.
I like my clothes!
"Don't let it affect you," Celestine whispered in my ear.
I shuddered slightly. As we walked, the crowd split to let us through, but suddenly a boy ran in front of us. He wore a dark red suit and had blonde hair. His glasses covered the majority of his face. He got on one knee in front of Ersa.
"Ersa Wintermere, please marry me!" He yelled out. Holding a red ruby ring out towards her.
I froze, my mouth falling open. Ava's cheeks puffed out as her face turned red, like she was struggling not to burst out laughing. Sylus looked up from his cracked trinket, which he had pulled out of his pocket. Celestine shuddered, and Sebastian gasped.
Ersa looked upon the boy.
"Who are you?"
The boy faltered.
"Tannor Redwyne, heir of House Redwyne... I have sent you countless marriage proposals, but you never responded," he answered, his hands shaking. "I thought you didn't respond because you wouldn't accept anything but an in-person proposal."
Her face froze. "Redwyne... Ugh, so poor, and look at that gem. Are you trying to insult me?"
"N-no, I didn't... I thought-"
"Begone, Tannor Redwyne, before you embarrass yourself any further," she laughed. "It's hilarious that someone of your standing could dream of having my hand. Take my words as your reward and leave."
The boy stood up. His face red, tears seeping down it. He dropped the jewel and ran into the crowd crying.
Sebastian's fist tightened. "How dare he..."
Ava burst out laughing.
"Looks like someone's popular with the guys~."
Ersa turned around and glared at her.
"Shut it, Vaelmont. My pride has already been struck today; do not make it worse."
Ava continued to giggle. I joined in; my eyes wandered the area, and I watched as more and more people entered the bazaar through the many doors. Suddenly, a massive blue screen appeared in the sky; on it was an older man with a large white beard.
"A projection rune..." Sylus mumbled.
"Welcome, Candidates!" the old man yelled, his voice projecting from every direction.
From nearby, someone yelled. "It's the headmaster! Gideon Valeward!"
Headmaster?
"The person who runs the school," Celestine responded.
I looked at her. "You're so awesome."
She smiled.
The headmaster continued to speak.
"As the last of you arrive, I'd like to say welcome to The Royal Crownspire Academy of Arcana and Arms!"
Massive explosions of all colours went off in the sky. The crowd screamed, including Ava. Celestine and the Wintermeres clapped while Sylus just looked at the projection with interest.
He coughed slightly.
"Now that I have your attention, I think it's good to explain that you are all just Candidates, so that means you aren't guaranteed to stay here. But if you do pass, then welcome to your new home for the next nine months!"
People whistled and yelled out.
"You must all be curious about the upcoming assessment, but don't fret; I'll explain it to you right now! This year it will be split into three separate segments: the ability exhibitions where you can show off your moves! The combat evaluation where you will fight against a fellow candidate! And of course, the Crownspire Trial!"
People whispered slightly throughout the crowd. "What's the Crownspire Trial?" I asked Celestine.
"It's a small dungeon raid where you get to face an entire floor by yourself," she responded.
"Oh! I see, thank you!"
She nodded.
"But for now, you have two days to explore and meet your fellow candidates! So with that, head to your assigned dormitory and settle in!" The projection vanished.
People yelled out and began talking to each other. Ava turned to me, her eyes beaming.
"What is your dorm and room?" she asked.
I pulled out the key I had gotten from the clerk.
"Asteria Hall and room W-99."
Her eyes brightened.
"Neighbours! I'm in room W-100!"
I smiled. "Nice!"
The air turned frigid as we talked. Ersa appeared behind Ava. "You're... you're in W-100..."
Ava turned and met her eyes. "Yeah, why? You jealous?"
She didn't respond; her face was pale white. Ava stared at her.
"Wait... No... Don't tell me!"
Ersa nodded.
"Why'd I have to get stuck with you!"
"I can say the same thing! Ugh!"
As the two girls bickered, I turned to Celestine; she had a bright smile on her face.
"Looks like we are roommates, Luna."