Headmaster

Solan was always a smart kid. He couldn't tell you the names of famous landmarks or the secrets of how magic worked, but his "street smarts" were enough to get him through in his village. 

Those street smarts, however, wouldn't be useful here... at least not for now. 

Sitting in front of Solan was a brittle old man, his skin washed in wrinkles, his eyes sagging deep into his skull. 

It was more accurate to say that Solan was in front of the man, however. 

Solan kept his eyes on the floor, not wanting to deal with more prejudice because of his eyes, but he occasionally darted them up to assess the situation. 

Next to him was Master Kealan, leaning on the man's desk. "This, kid, is who runs this oh-so-blessed academy," Kealan said with a smirk. "Headmaster Eldric Thornfield." 

Headmaster Thornfield's voice was a low, gravelly whisper. "Welcome. I trust your journey here was... eventful." 

He watched Solan intensely, not saying a word about Kealan's attitude. 

'So, he does this type of thing often. How many other students does he have?' Solan wondered. 

The interior of the office looked similar to the room Solan had found himself in chains before, every wall lined with pristine wood and metal, a couple statues and paintings scattered around. 

After staring at Solan for a while, a stare that Solan had kept completely one-sided, the headmaster looked over at Kealan. 

"So, Master Kealan, do you want to explain yourself?" The old man's tone was stern, like a father scolding his child. 

"Well... let's just say I made a deal, and... He has to come to school here now," Kealan said quickly. 

The headmaster simply leaned into his armchair, his expression exhausted "So, you want me to bring in a student in the middle of the school year because you made a bad deal." His tone was flat; it wasn't even a question. 

"I didn't make a bad deal! In fact, I feel that you should be honoured to have little Sol… him attending. The other students could learn a thing or two," Kealan seemed to avoid using Solans name, he was grateful for that at least. 

The headmaster's eyebrows raised questionly, his eyes darted from Kealan to Solan, seemingly unconvinced. 

Slowly, the old man leaned back forward in his chair, staring at Solan as he stared at the ground. 

Suddenly, Solan's shoulders shot down. He felt his organs drop inside him, and the chair under him creaked and groaned. 

The pressure pressing down on him as immense; he had almost bitten his own tongue off and cracked his teeth. 

But compared to the council room, this was nothing. He even managed to glance at the man before the pressure subsided. 

The headmaster leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his face. 

"That pressure would have sent most wannabe students off the chair, not to mention most end up fracturing their knees." 

Kealan watched the headmaster's evaluation happily, as if he were taking credit for Solan's strength. "See? What did I tell you?" 

"Unfortunately, Master Kealan, it isn't so easy to bring a student this late into the school year. Will you at least let me test him?" 

Kealan's smile dropped. Solan thought, 'He's probably realising that I wouldn't pass any test they throw at me.' 

"A test... won't work for him." Solan couldn't help but glare at his mentor silently. 

"At least an academic one won't. I propose a different test!" 

Quickly, before either of them could respond, he put a hand on both Solan and the old man's shoulders, warping them away again. 

Once again, Solan felt the same sensation of being torn from one place and thrown into another. 

By this point, he was already used to it, but it still made him sick to his stomach. 

When Solan felt himself arriving wherever Kealan had warped them, he dropped to his knees. 

"You have got to stop doing that!" Solan barely kept himself from throwing up, yet Kealan and Headmaster Thornfield stood above him, seemingly unfazed. 

Hurriedly, Master Kealan crouched down and whispered to him, "Kid, you're making me look bad." 

"You bastard... Warn me next time," Solan growled. 

Solan slowly hobbled off his knees. Around him was a large field, green grass spreading across the vast area. He could still see the school's old architecture in the distance. 

Around the field were small statues, each with similar architecture to the school, but each of them different. 

The headmaster turned to Kealan. "What test did you have in mind, Kealan?" 

"I propose a fight!" 

'He can't be serious; this guy almost broke me with a glance,' thought Solan. 

Seeing Solan's expression, Kealan explained, "Oh, don't worry. You won't have a chance of winning, but that's not the point. Headmaster, I want you to do a practical test... the same as a second-year student." 

The headmaster raised an eyebrow. "You'd like me to test a child who hasn't even entered our school at the level of a second year?" 

Solan, of course, didn't know what this meant, but it sounded like it was going to hurt. "W-wait, don't I get a say in this?" 

Kealan's expression turned grim. "Of course, your other option is to not come to this school, but then the deal I made is off, and you'll be put to death again." 

The old man's expression changed. 

Kealan's face tensed up, realizing he'd said too much. "Kealan... you brought me a child who's been sentenced to death by the council." 

Slowly, the master turned. "Well, not exactly. Right now, he's innocent." 

Suddenly, Solan felt something hit his stomach, like he'd been punched with full force. Solan was sent rolling over himself, his vision blurring. It was far more painful than anything he had been hit with before. 

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Eldric!" 

The old man's tone was far more threatening now. "You brought a criminal into this school. I don't know how you managed to smooth talk the council, but perhaps it has something to do with the two missing members." 

'Missing members?' Solan felt like he had just learned something he really wasn't supposed to. 

Looking up at the two, he saw Kealan's expression. He was no longer the gleeful teacher he knew. His face was flat and emotionless, his hands twitching by his side. "Headmaster. Let's talk somewhere else." 

And then they were gone. 

Solan hadn't had the time to even see Kealan touch him... it made him wonder if he even had to. 

Stumbling off his knees as his vision returned and his legs came back to him, he sat in the middle of the field. 

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, though. 

Kealan and the headmaster had disappeared somewhere, and frankly, he wasn't sure exactly how or where to go, or if they were going to return anytime soon. 

After sitting for a while longer, he decided to walk towards the school. He wasn't sure how exactly to get there, but it didn't seem like he had much of a choice… 

After walking towards the school for a while, he came across a hedge maze blocking him from continuing… 

"You're kidding… they've got a maze here?" Solan was suddenly incredibly envious of Master Kealan, just how nice would it have been to be able to warp like he could. 

'Actually, it would be nice to be able to do anything like he could." 

After looking around and realising he couldn't just go around it, he tried walking straight through the leaves, but he felt something repelling him. 

"Is this what the old guy can do?" He'd felt his power firsthand before after all, his stomach still hurt as proof. 

Eventually Solan tentatively stepped into the maze. 

The walls of the maze were quite a bit taller than Solan, enough that he couldn't see past it if he jumped, but he could still see the top of the school, giving him some kind of objective. 

Solan took a long sigh 'Is this the test? I thought I was going to fight the old guy' Solan honestly wasn't sure if he was, he was relived or worried. 

There was no way he was just going to be able to just walk around for a while and find his way there. 

He peered down the damp maze skeptically, the leaves swaying quietly. 

One thing was for sure though, it wasn't going to be as simple as just walking towards the school.