Life is a peculiar tapestry. Life: It tells the story of people. Some are normal, others, only fabled. Yet, these stories exist nonetheless. At a certain point, these stories start to converge. Sharing something akin to one another. These stories I find are the most desirable. As paths reflect on one another, it's interesting to observe how similar circumstances and the environments drive people. I wonder how their story, their journey, and the ones to come will fare. I wish them all the best and may luck be on their side.
- ███████
Chapter 1 Beginning
Seated comfortably and lounged leisurely, my gaze drifts out the window. The hustle and bustle of the train, not bothering me in the slightest. Fleeting glimpses of the scenery pass by—clusters of trees, sprawling green fields, and towering mountain ranges in the distance.
The rhythmic churning of the locomotive filled the air, a steady hum beneath the occasional murmur of passengers.
I closed my eyes, letting the sounds of the train lull me into rest. Before long, I had dozed off, lost in the gentle swaying of the carriage.
Later, a sharp blast of the train's horn shattered the stillness, jolting me awake. A chime followed, then a mechanical voice rang through the cabin.
"Good evening to all passengers. We've just arrived at Cross Station in Lexington City. Please gather all your belongings before exiting the train. Our attendants are available to assist you and will direct you out. Thank you for riding with us and have a lovely evening."
Blinking away the last remnants of sleep, I sit up, still groggy. My eyes flicked toward the clock mounted above the compartment door.
The journey had taken around nine hours—I must have slept for at least four, nearly half the ride. The announcement repeated, likely to ensure all passengers made their way out.
Exhaling, I reached for my belongings. A bag slung over one shoulder and a long pole wrapped entirely in white cloth. Securing my grip on the latter, I stepped toward the door and pulled it open, stepping into the corridor.
As I approached the main exit, an attendant stood waiting, nodding in acknowledgment. I returned the gesture before stepping off the train and onto the platform of Cross Station.
"So this is Kensington City."
The station was larger than I expected—vast, bustling with movement. People hurried in all directions, their voices blending into an indistinct hum.
Some stood in clusters, chatting animatedly, while others strode toward their terminals, preparing to board. The air carried the scent of polished steel and the faint traces of distant food stalls.
I walked forward, scanning the area. Looking for something.
Exiting the station, my gaze flicked around until it landed on a figure standing near the entrance.
This person dressed in formal attire held a sign, their posture straight and composed. A white robe draped over their shoulders, stopping just at the waist.
Beneath it, they wore burgundy red pants and a crisp white shirt all adorned in a military looking fashion, the contrast making them stand out against the shifting crowd.
Shifting my attention, I looked at the rectangular sign the man was holding. It read Brian Brigade. That's me?
I hadn't expected them to send someone to fetch me. I went up to the man and introduced himself
"Hi I'm Brian Brigade."
The man scanned me up and down.
"Show me some identification."
It was a reasonable request. After all, the school wouldn't want just anyone entering their campus. I placed my pole to the side and shuffled through my pants back pocket.
Presenting a brooch no bigger than the size of my palm and some papers I hand them to the man.
He inspected the brooch, its silver plating being tinkered with. He then examined the papers and, after looking satisfied, handed both back.
Thank you, I've confirmed the authenticity of the paper documents and brooch. Welcome to the city of knowledge, Mr. Brian. If you'd follow me this way, I'll lead you to the carriage.
I nodded in acknowledgment and followed the attendant. We continued along the pathed path, getting further away from the main hall of the train station. Exiting the station, my eyes squinted.
The feeling of the sun shining brightly on my face was a sharp contrast to the protected shade of the station.
The streets outside were just as busy as in the station. There were uniformed men cladded in some armor patrolling the streets, merchants bargaining goods to customers, and citizens walking and talking.
There were carriages and the occasional carriage with no horses passing by. It's certainly a bustling and lively city.
"This way sir."
The man leading me had arrived at a carriage, and I looked at it curiously.
At first glance it looked like any normal carriage, it had an all black rectangular frame with different color accents, two doors layed center on its side with a window on each, and four wheels propped it up.
The only difference from a standard carriage was that there were no horses just like some of the one that went pass on the road earlier.
The attendant noticed my gaze and smiled.
"This is a carriage that doesn't need horses. It operates via complex machinery that moves it as if it were pulled by horses. Quite impressive isn't it?"
"In recent years through trades with other countries more of these have emerged from the neighboring continents."
I was surprised as I had not known these vehicles operated in such a way. Back in my home town, my family owns an inn. So though not many I wasn't too unaccustomed to seeing such carriages.
The attendant opened the door to the carriage and gestured for me to enter. He quietly took my belongings and stored them on the carriage.
Then he entered the carriage himself sitting opposite of me.
He knocked lightly on the surface behind him, and the carriage rattled awake, slowly moving forward.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed a third person in the carriage operating it. He was looking in all directions as he moved a wheel between his hands.
"Is this your first time in Kenzington, Mr. Brian?"
The man escorting me inquired about this
"Yes, it's my first time. It's quite a beautiful city. I didn't know what to expect but it wasn't anything like this."
The carriage started to move at a fast and consistent pace. Giving me more views of the city.
The roads were smoothly paved, allowing carriages to glide without effort.
The man seated across from me reached into a compartment and pulled out a folded pamphlet.
"Here, Mr. Brian. This should help you get a better grasp of our academy."
He handed it to me, and I unfolded the paper, revealing two neat creases and lines of printed text.
It went over things such as curriculum, uniform, and creed. In a brief summary Prism Academy, a school for the elite and gifted.
It's quite a prestigious school that most noble and aristocratic and distinguished researcher families send their children to gain connections and learn magic.
If one wants, once they graduate from Prism Academy, they can move on to the greater Prism institutions.
Prism as a whole is dedicated to the development progression and documentation of magic.
The school is known for fostering talented magicians, alchemist, and professors, amongst other things.
Ha, I chuckled a bit. It seems I've gotten myself into quite the school, I guess I'm very lucky. I got in due to a raffle and heard that if you graduated, you could make a lot of money. Which was one main factor in my attending.
"The school sounds even more interesting than I first thought." The attendant smiled. "Why yes, Prism probably has the largest catalog of spells in existence."
"The school prioritizes recording a wide range of magic in all categories rather than just one specific field, so it's considered by many to be the best place to learn magic."
The carriage rattled to a smooth stop.
We were by the road's sidewalk in front of a large black gate. The attendant got out of the carriage and opened my door.
"This way, sir Brian." He held the door open for me, and I stepped out.
"Thank you for the ride."
Gathering my luggage, I made my way to the school gate.
That was a nice ride. I took a look at my watch. The ride was about twenty minutes. Making my way to Prism's main entrance, I took in the scenery.
I've been told that Prism's institution as a whole took up a large portion of the city, and now I see for myself just how true that was. The school building is massive yet even doesn't do it justice. It had 4 large pillars erected in the front.
The entrance was between the first two pillars; the other two were diagonally behind it, making a triangle shape if you were to see it from above. people were buzzing around the main entrance below the staircase.
And there were more walking in and out of the door above. I did a quick sweep of the area but didn't find what I was looking for, so I walked past the large crowd of people and entered the doors.
As soon as I stepped foot into the building, I felt the shift in temperature. Today the weather happened to be quite nice. A little sunny, some clouds and the occasional gust of wind. In the academy, it was maybe a few degrees cooler.
Inside the building, the noise around intensified. I swerved my way past people, I had been keeping an eye out for an area where I could register for my classes.
Eventually, I found it. A space with tables set up and multiple lines formed in front of them.
Not to mention the sign informing students that they would receive their schedules there. The lines were getting longer, so I quickly joined in.
The pace was steady, giving my mind time to wander. I found myself thinking back to the night before I left for Kenzington City. My family and a few close friends had gathered for a small farewell party.
My mother and sister, though clearly reluctant, didn't protest my decision to travel to the Bartholomew Kingdom.
They understood I was chasing an opportunity—but really, I just wanted to see more of the world than my quiet hometown.
Still, while I'm here, I'll do what I can to land a decent position and send money back to help with the inn.
I'd heard that skilled researchers or even just mages who assist them could earn a hefty income.
I wasn't necessarily aiming for either—not because I couldn't, but because I wasn't sure I wanted the weight of those responsibilities.
Still, being something is better than being small-town nobody, and to accomplish something worth mentioning, I'll need to expand my knowledge far beyond my almost non existent knowledge of magic while improving my combative skills.
I turned my head to the side, looking around.
The line progressed smoothly, and before I knew it, I had my schedule in hand. As well as my dorm number.
Two hundred and twenty-two.
Tucking the paper with my schedule into my bag, I made my way to the dorms. Instead of heading back out the main entrance, I walked around a bit, leaving through the east wing of the building.
It was closest to the dorms according to the map I had received along with my schedule. The path leading away from the school was quite large.
I can only guess that from time to time, carriages and such pass through here.
Walking on the right side of the pathway, I looked at the students walking down the middle and farthest left either coming to or from the school.
From what I observed earlier, it doesn't seem like the school enforces a strict dress code. I would often see students wear similar styles such as—shirts, pants, suits, or even dresses.
However, there does appear to be a required color scheme. I remember skimming over a uniform section in the pamphlet including the colors.
The acceptable colors are red, white, and black—though the combination and arrangement seem to be up to the individual. You'd have one person wearing a white shirt and black pants. It's another with burgundy pants and a black shirt.
Some even wear a suit over their shirt in the corresponding color. No one wears the exact same clothes with the exact same arrangement of colors. I walked further down the path that had turns and curves, and eventually, I saw the dorms.
They were huge, though nowhere near at large as the school. At least three of the large buildings were visible, but I could tell there were more.
I habitually did a mental count of the windows. five rows and eleven columns. If I were to assume that we each get our own dorm, then there are over one hundred sixty-five dorms. I stopped walking for a moment, thinking to look around. That's not a lot of dorms.
Am I to assume that there aren't that many people in need of them? Or are there other sections with many more dorms? Quilling my curiosity, I continued down the path.
I walked past the first two buildings to both of my sides and headed to the second one on my right. I walked in through the doors and came to an unfamiliar device. It was a flat platform with numbers on it on an erected pillar that reached up to my waist.
On the pillar were a series of numbers one through five.
I did a quiet sweep of the doors closest to me. They all started with one, and I was currently on the first floor. So, by that logic, I walked onto the platform and pressed the two on the piller. After a moment, I heard a gentle churn followed by a sudden shift.
I felt lightheaded for an instant and then felt my body start to rising.
It was an odd sensation. After ten twenty seconds or so, the device stopped and arrived at the second floor. I did another sweep of the area.
I glanced at a spot on the wall. It had numbers two hundred twenty through two hundred twenty to my left and two hundred twenty through two hundred forty to my left. I followed the guide to my room door two hundred and twenty-two.
A slight smile played on my lips as I got my key I received along with the schedule and map. Inserting it through the door twisted, unlocking it.
The door swung into the room. Inside a nicely furnished room revealed itself. A small coffee table lay in the middle of the room surrounded by a two - or three seater sofa. Opposite of it was a single seater sofa chair.
They all shared a dark green color, which contrasted nicely with the dark yet vibrant oak table and floor. Behind the common area was the kitchen.
In it I heard noise. I tensed up a bit, raising my guard. I thought I was here alone, but thinking about it, this space was excessively large for just one person.
I made my way to the source of the sound. Then I heard a voice. "Oh, you're here. Come inside." Following the voice, I walked into a hallway coming in front of an open door. In the room, a man sat at a desk directly across from the door.
He had a friendly smile and waved.
"Welcome".