Soil We Share

The Grand Courtyard buzzed with shifting energy the next morning. Guild banners swayed in the cold morning wind, and rows of first-year students wriggled in place, surrounded by the murmur of uncertainty and fresh ambition.

One by one, instructors stepped up to the stage, their voices cutting through the crowd like steel drawn from velvet.

[ Head Instructor Malrik ]

"I am Sir Malrik Harth..."

"The Northern Light."

Some Dawnseeker seniors were already on their feet, rooting for him with unrestrained pride.

"Dawnseekers..."

"We do not chase the light."

"We carry it."

"Each of my students will be forged."

"No shortcuts."

"No softness."

"I don't care if you are a shielder, a reaver, or an augmenter."

"Because..."

"All Paths Lead to One!"

His students roared in response. One particularly eager Dawnseeker was already stretching like the speech had triggered an immediate training montage.

After Sir Malrik stepped down, a robed woman stepped forward with grace, her æsther-glass monocle catching the rising sun. Her presence quieted the students before she spoke.

[ Head Instructor Velle ]

"My name is Velle Eshari."

"All of you shall refer to me as Lady Eshari."

"Remember..."

"Power comes to those who can shape it."

"Skyward Arcanum teaches mastery, and we yearn for perfection."

"To those accepted, you are not gifted."

"You are responsible."

"Remember not who you are, but who you can be."

"Remember..."

"Beyond the Veil Lies Mastery."

Some students nodded solemnly. Others — the noble types — stood with the poise of those trained to look unfazed, even when overwhelmed.

Between speeches, the courtyard rippled with whispers — notes exchanged, guild pins examined, first impressions tallied like battlefield reports.

[ Rio ]

"Hey, guys..."

"It's Instructor Brielle."

[ Nerim ]

"I didn't know she was the Head Instructor."

[ Peggy ]

"No... She's not."

Instructor Brielle stepped onto the platform with an apologetic air, holding a book to her chest like a shield.

[ Instructor Brielle ]

"I'm sorry..."

"But Mrs. Kirstensen, the Ironroot Head Instructor, is away on an official Dungeon Delve."

"Um..."

"The strongest trees bend."

"The deepest roots don't shout."

"Ironroots."

"Keep growing."

"Hold ground. Shape the world."

She stepped off as quickly as she arrived, retreating to the rear rows without ceremony.

Ironroot Group 1A stood a little apart — only five of them. Yet the quiet between them didn't feel empty.

It felt rooted.

Peggy shifted, then turned to the boys with a clear, weighing expression.

[ Peggy ]

"Peggy Orlsen."

"Westminster Highlands."

"My sister graduated from Ironroot two years ago."

"So… I know a few things."

[ Nerim ]

"Orlsen, huh."

"Your sister was the one who cleared the Serpent Gate solo?"

[ Peggy ]

"She didn't clear it."

"She outlasted it."

"Didn't kill the wyrm..."

"But it never slithered forward again after that."

[ Rio ]

"Spicy family history already..."

"I like it."

"Kaiden, what do you think?"

"Think we've got a mini wyrm-tamer in our ranks?"

Kaiden chuckled. Peggy didn't smile — but she didn't flinch either.

Instead, she gently placed a hand on the shoulder of the blonde girl beside her.

[ Peggy ]

"This is Irna Nguyen."

"She's from Jadespring."

"Not good with noise."

[ Irna ]

"H-Hello."

"I… um…"

"I'm not fast."

"Or strong."

"But I can cast some spells."

[ Nerim ]

"That's plenty."

"Every tree starts as a seed."

Irna nodded, casting a glance toward the stage where Instructor Brielle had disappeared.

[ Peggy (raising two fingers) ]

"Just wanted to clear the air before class starts."

"No surprises."

Kaiden met her gaze and gave a respectful nod.

[ Kaiden ]

"I'm Kaiden Stagin."

"Cardinal Peaks."

"...I'm not much of a surprise anyway."

[ Peggy ]

"You sure?"

"Kind of hard to miss someone who unlocks twelve skills at Level One."

Kaiden blinked.

She noticed.

She observed.

[ * Kaiden (internally) * ]

"Guess I did attract attention..."

[ Rio ]

"Rio Brentt."

"Canford Port."

"And don't worry, Irna."

"I'm loud enough for both of us."

Irna smiled — just a little. But it was a start.

A moment later, the Seraphin Blades instructor stepped up, silencing the courtyard with three words and a stare sharp enough to cut marble.

[ Instructor Savarencka ]

"Both eyes forward!"

[ Rio (under his breath) ]

"…Remind me never to skip her class."

Kaiden allowed himself a small smile, the warmth of the earlier introductions still fresh. For the first time, the five of them weren't strangers standing together.

They were classmates.

Ironroot, Group 1A.

Moments later, a composed man draped in a neutral silver mantle — signifying no guild allegiance — captured everybody's attention just by standing still at the center of the stage.

[ Peggy (whisper) ]

"It's Headmaster Callen..."

[ Headmaster Callen ]

"Welcome, first-year initiates."

"You are no longer merely children of your towns and villages..."

"You are aspirants of the Ardent Stromhold Kingdom — bound by the system, and now, by each other."

His voice was not booming, yet it rang clearly, as though the æstherlight itself carried it on purpose. All chatter, fidgeting, and side glances fell into silence.

"You stand now at the threshold of knowledge and discipline — one that will not offer you comfort, but clarity."

"You come here under guilds, flags, and philosophies."

"But before the year ends, you will realize..."

"None of those matters when a dungeon collapses over your heads."

Some of the students stiffened. A few nervous chuckles escaped.

"To the Dawnseekers..."

"Keep burning."

"But burn wisely."

"A torch without control becomes wildfire."

"To the Skyward Arcanum..."

"Keep mastering."

"But do not mistake technique for truth."

"To the Ironroot..."

He paused for a while, as if searching for someone.

"...Grow deep."

"Root wide."

"But remember the soil that holds you..."

"Even when no one else does."

"And to the Seraphin Blades..."

"Congratulations on making the cut this year."

"Keep refining."

"But remember..."

"The edge that does not bend will break."

He glanced over the assembled students once more. His eyes, calm and ancient, settled on no one in particular — yet Kaiden felt seen.

"Within these walls, you will forge not just your strength..."

"But your convictions."

"Not just companions..."

"But comrades."

"And when the trials come..."

"You will not bleed as guilds, nor as rivals..."

"You will bleed as one."

He let those words linger. A slow, respectful applause began — not loud, but steady. A few Dawnseekers whooped and clapped louder, of course.

The staff stepped back into formation.

Then a bell rang out — not mechanical, but something ancient. A tone that hummed in the marrow and echoed into the æsther-veins embedded throughout the courtyard's marble.

As the applause faded, instructors began organizing students into their guild groups. Ironroot 1A stood together, already forming a quiet rhythm of their own.

The crowd slowly dispersed, guild instructors calling their flocks like shepherds into diverging paths.

◈◈◈

Later that afternoon, the first-years were split into tour groups led by final-year volunteers. Each guild followed their own route.

Ironroot 1A, however, was guided personally by Instructor Brielle.

Their route diverged from the others — beneath opalescent æstherglass bridges and shaded corridors of living stone supported by root columns. No other students crossed their path.

Eventually, a mythic door of bark and branch stood before them.

[ Rio ]

"Okay, so..."

"Is this the part where we get chased by moss wolves for character growth?"

[ Nerim ]

"You're thinking of that adventure book again."

"'Trial of the Ten Ferns.'"

[ Kaiden ]

"...Ten ferns?"

[ Peggy ]

"It was... satire."

"Unfortunately, not curriculum."

[ Instructor Brielle ]

"Lay your hand on the door, Mr. Brentt."

[ Rio ]

"Who... me?"

As Rio placed his hand on the door, it began to twist and unfurl.

A path opened before them.

[ Instructor Brielle ]

"From here on, only those who have already planted their seed are allowed inside."

She gestured for them to proceed.

They entered a wide cavern beneath the Academy's western wing. Unlike the Root Cellar, this space thrummed with activity.

[ Nerim ]

"No way!"

"Our very own secret hideout..."

"Excellent!"

Circular arenas, elevated platforms, forge-smith corners, and meditation chambers filled the space, like a guild's spine had been hollowed out to hold all their aspirations.

The scent of iron and damp roots filled the air. Training clanks echoed beneath the hum of æsther conduits.

This was Ironroot's domain.

[ Instructor Brielle ]

"This is your... branch of the Ironroot tree."

"You train here, you grow here."

"Each facility tuned to your resonance tier."

"You are free to explore… with caution."

Rio's hand was already hovering near a strange helmet fused with a tree stump.

[ Peggy ]

"That's a neural-path trial core."

"Touch it and it triggers a stress exam."

[ Rio (retracting) ]

"...Thanks for the save."

[ Nerim ]

"One of those cracked my cousin's ankle last year."

"Didn't know æsther can implode if you think too loud."

Kaiden wandered toward a softly pulsing shrine at the back wall. Vines coiled around it, and the symbols were too faded to interpret.

[ Kaiden ]

"...This wasn't made recently."

[ Irna ]

"It's older than the academy."

"I read it in a lorebook from the library."

"That shrine reacts to blood-bound traits… if any of us carry one."

Peggy turned toward her.

[ Peggy ]

"You read the lorebooks already?"

[ Irna (fidgeting) ]

"I…"

"Couldn't sleep."

Instructor Brielle, who had been watching quietly, finally turned.

[ Instructor Brielle ]

"Tomorrow, your classes begin properly."

"Lectures in the morning."

"P.E. starts at three o'clock."

She walked toward the far arch, then paused.

"And remember..."

"You are not trees yet."

"But you will root."

"And when the wind comes, you won't fall."

[ Rio (whisper) ]

"Okay..."

"But... like..."

"Fast-growing trees, right?"

"A paulownia, perhaps?"

The rest chuckled softly.

Irna blinked, quietly impressed. She hadn't expected Rio to know what a paulownia was.