Exam (2)

Upon arriving at the exam location by himself, as only those taking the exam could enter it, Cyrus looked around and observed the people he saw. Even before inspecting them closely he was inwardly shocked at the sheer amount of people, which cleared up the question as to why the exams were over such a long period… the answer being that there were simply a tremendous amount of people who took the exams every year. After accustoming himself to the sheer amount of people, he inspected the people around him while others also did the same for him. All around him were people of similar age but that was the only similar thing about them. Varying heights, statures, genders, skin tones, as well as an extremely surprising variety of clothing types and quality. One of the more striking examples was one man who was wearing an almost comically giant robe, in stark contrast to a girl who was near him who was wearing nothing but what seemed to be a large sack.

"Quite the… unique assortment of people here" thought Cyrus, as he took his seat in the waiting room. Sitting in a chair that prioritized function over comfort, no doubt due to the sheer amount of chairs that lined the three out of four of the walls in the room that were apart of large rows with extremely little space in between them, he sat and reflected over the new knowledge he had acquired recently as more of a time killer than anything. He did not know exactly when the examination would start or how it would be conducted, as he was only directed to this waiting room and told to wait for further instructions.

As time passed, the hours ticked by with the crowd growing ever rowdier as boredom and fatigue set in. A few even began to complain aloud, wondering whether it was worth the trouble at all. Time continued to pass, which Cyrus cared little for as it allowed him to further ponder the integral secrets of the cooling and heating infrastructure of the city…

Some time later, the exact amount Cyrus was unaware of as he did not bother to keep track of it after the first two hours, a sound began to ring out from the only wall of the room that was not covered by chairs. Slowly but steadily, the wall moved to the side to reveal a wide passage.

"The mechanism of this door seems to be similar to that used in Cato's hideouts. Just that not as much care has been put in to keep it silent." thought Cyrus in passing as the passageway opened fully.

When it did, a woman who looked to be in her late 50's was revealed. She had graying hair that was clearly originally of an exotic red but that was not the most shocking thing about her. The most eye catching thing about her appearance was the set of robes she was wearing, white in color which signified the Vita realm of magic, with the symbol of two small towers on her chest.

"This is the first time I have seen that symbol in person on someone else other than Adara. It represents the wearer being an official member of the Tower of Babel, the main branch of all the magical associations located in the Imperial Capitol. One tower means they are an Adept, two being a Master and so on" remarked Cyrus inwardly.

"I am Master Cilla of Glacies Academy, a Vita mage. I am responsible for this batch of examinees." She then looked sharply across the room before continuing, "Do know that I was chosen for this task as I have several highly personalized detection spells at my disposal, making me one of the best. Cheating of any kind will not work. That said, let us begin the second part of the exam." She then snapped her fingers, releasing her will into the world around her to. At once several people in the room were knocked unconscious by her unknown spell, which sparked Cyrus' interest, as well as a bit of panic to erupt in the room.

"Calm down else you will join them. Those who do not have the patience to even wait a few measly hours have no place in my Glacies. Those of you that are still awake, follow me for the next segment of the exam. Orderly at that" ended Cilla. She then turned around and started walking without another word. Those who were still conscious then began to stand up and also head towards the passageway in an orderly manner, obviously they were not going to go against the prestige and power of this Master Magus. Cyrus too got up and followed along as he wondered how Cilla used the Vita domain like she did, already excited for all that he would be able to learn soon.