Dome

The first morning of the following week came with the tolling of the bell that seemed to glow like a second sun from the vast white tower of the Central Administration. Jien was already sitting in the communal area of the joint living space, reading by the dining room table as had become his habit over the past week. He looked at the standard pocket watch he had been issued by the academy to see that as the first toll echoed out fading into the second, a light released from the seem of the lid and body. This is how they would learn their course for the day, each class taking half a day followed by 'free time' to study or work.

With a steady gaze picked up the watch and with a press of the clasp and swift flick of the wrist the lid opened, a simple list of coordinates that could be matched to the academy map and room number showed in glowing gold light. His eyes flashed shortly with an array of stars linked by golden threads before it faded as quickly as it had come. He snapped the watch closed and watched as the others walked out from their respective rooms, some ready for the day like Jien himself, some full of energy but still working at waking up like Rosalind, and others looking like they were about to fall back asleep on their feet. Robyn represented this last category best, her hair messy, her uniform wrinkled and barely put on correctly as she yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Jien quickly used the coordinates he had just recorded against the map he had memorized long ago, layered with the coordinate map and many others he had sourced from the library and central administration. A slight smile crept onto his lips at the sight of where they would be headed, his eyes filled with anticipation. Only a few noticed the slight curl of his lips but when they looked at his bright eyes two conflicting emotions arose. One was the same anticipation as he was feeling, the other was a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs. If he had such a burning gaze it meant that their first lesson of the semester was bound to be in a subject that was heavy on information. They prayed in their hearts that it wasn't going to be some sort of dry lecture.

Not long after they had headed down to the mess hall for breakfast. Nobody else bothered to look at their own watches, simply opening them and snapping them closed to erase the message. Everyone in a unit would attend the same class for the first year, sometimes two depending on specialties. This was to build their teamwork and give a strong foundation for further lessons in the coming years. The trouble came where grading was involved using this method. The entire unit was graded together, so one person flunking meant that everyone would be dragged down with them. Of course there were a number of ways to ensure that your unit wouldn't fail. Though they would be time consuming and often draining. Everything was about teamwork at this stage and no one person could carry the whole burden, or be cast off for the sake of the team.

As they sat at one of the tables with their food they were joined by the others they had come to know over the past week. Nobody talked as they ate. As much as they may have been curious about what courses the other units may have they generally had no idea or even if they did it wouldn't make any difference as each unit was taught by a different teacher. It was definitely a drag on army resources do do it this way, but this academy was beginning and continuation of the human army in their struggle against the others that would try to do them harm. Each generation would bring with it more members to bolster both their troops and the number of mentors for those troops.

The only reason Jien had an inkling of what their first course of the semester would be was because of the many maps and indexes he had memorized and filed away in his Personal Library. He knew where they were headed and it wasn't just another normal building or the central administration. Where they were heading was one of the few truly unique buildings in the entirety of the academy. Soon enough they were done eating and after exchanging a number of short goodbyes and well wishes all of the units headed in their own direction while Jien's followed him, now much more awake than they had started.

As they walked to the southeast , following a number of side streets with a casual pace they saw many students similar to themselves walking about. Some were rushing by as if they were being chased by someone, others lazily crowd watching from the side. Some sipping on drinks and eating their breakfast at the cafes spread along the streets. Though the mess halls were free that didn't stop businesses from sprouting in the academy, created by students for students through a strict oversight by the staff of the academy.

Finally, after more than twenty minutes of walking Jien caught his first glimpse of their destination. The first thing he saw was a gleam of the sun reflecting into his eyes, nearly leaving him blinded by the bright light. He quickly shielded his eyes to get a glimpse of the top of a massive glass dome in the distance. As they grew closer it seemed to grow larger in their eyes, leaving them truly in awe. Once they were within about two blocks of the dome they knew why Jien was so happy earlier. Before them sat a massive greenhouse, larger than several farms in their territories combined. It's glass dome towered over them almost as imposing as the ivory tower of Central Administration. Within it's glass walls was a vast forest of greenery of all shapes and sizes.

Olivia smiled more brilliantly than Jien had earlier, raising her hands and cheering loudly. Their first lesson of the semester likely had something to do with alchemy or the plants involved in it. Her family's domain was based in this field and she knew it like the back of her hand. In turn for her cheers she received a set of disheartened groans from Lesley, Rosalind and Robyn. They just hoped that their mentor would have mercy on them.