CHAPTER 7

"How was your breakfast?" the man asked me as we left the dining room.

"Cool," I answered honestly. "Especially the pancakes. Why are you smiling?"

"Simple. It's always nice to see children who can still enjoy ordinary things," he replied.

"Actually, I'll be thirteen soon," I told him. "So I'm not a child anymore."

"Of course," he nodded and stopped smiling. "Sorry, Miles. I didn't mean to offend you."

We walked in silence for a minute, and then he began to speak:

"Let's get acquainted, Fielding. I am Alaric Torvayne, master of dark classes in this school. Considering that you were assigned to one of my classes, we will meet often, young man."

"So you are my class teacher?"

"Something like that," Alaric chuckled.

"Why are you a master of dark classes? Are there many of them?"

"Five. One for each year of study. For example, you ended up in a dark first-year classroom, got it?"

"Yeah."

"By the way, I'll have to give you a uniform today," he looked at me and shook his head. "Otherwise, you're walking around school like… Anyway, don't forget to go to the school cloakroom and get your uniform, got it?"

"I understand," I nodded. "And where is it?"

"Here, in the main building. The library, where you should get your textbooks, is also here. So don't forget to go there."

"Okay, and when?"

"Well, I'll give you a tour of the school now, tell you a little about what's here and how, and then you'll have free time until the evening," answered Alaric Torvayne. "You can take care of your personal affairs."

"It's clear."

At that moment, somewhere in the area of the cafeteria, a thunderous rumble was heard, followed by girls' squeals. A minute later, the hall was filled with the tramp of hundreds of feet, and the students rushed out of the main building and onto the street.

"What happened?" Alaric asked menacingly of one of the students, whom he grabbed by the hand.

"Brighthollow has something wrong with his stomach; the air is bad for him… He can't sit… The elders took him to the medical unit…"

"The devil knows what this is," Alaric shook his head. "They're like little children; they can't eat in peace."

At that moment, I barely managed to keep from smiling. Considering that Eldric was laughing like a horse, it wasn't easy!

"Okay, Fielding, let's go out into the fresh air," the master said to me. "Something really doesn't smell very good here…"

We left the main building and entered a large green clearing with a fountain in the centre. From there, many paths led in different directions to other buildings. One definitely led to our bedrooms; I already knew that. But where the others were going was still unclear.

Alaric was in no hurry to leave. He waited until the crowd of students dispersed and continued:

"Besides what you already know, the main building also houses classrooms, teachers' offices, and all sorts of other stuff like that," he looked at me and shrugged. "Usually, students aren't drawn to this building, for some reason… It's strange, isn't it?"

"I don't know. Maybe the teachers are boring?"

"Hmm… I somehow didn't think about that… I'll have to throw this idea out in the staff room for everyone to consider."

"What is that board on legs to the right of the entrance?"

"It's an information stand," Alaric answered. "Various information and announcements are posted there. The students simply call it the Board."

"What announcements? School ones?"

"Not necessarily," the master shrugged. "For example, people from neighbouring cities constantly post information about part-time jobs for students. After all, Gifted Ones study here. You understand—there is always work for good magicians everywhere. Especially in such a special place as ours. The best ones study here."

"Will I also be able to go to neighbouring cities?"

"I don't know yet. It's not clear how exactly they'll decide in your case… You seem to be an exception to the rule; you're too young. Actually, all first-year students can."

"It's good that everyone can—I like to visit new places. Are there many neighbouring cities?"

"Two. Whitestone and Oakvale. But the students usually go to Whitestone. There's a regular bus from the school there, and the city is bigger there—shops, restaurants… In general, life is quite eventful, not like in Oakvale; there isn't even a police station there."

"Alaric Torvayne, you said that we have a special place here—what does that mean?"

"Well, let's say, with increased danger. You come from the London Dominion?"

"Yes."

"You rarely have magical storms there, which means that Distortions don't happen often, but here, on the contrary, storms happen regularly… This happens near all the schools of magic. Probably because there are too many Gifted in one place," he looked at me. "Got it?"

"Not really."

"Well, look—we have a lot of magical storms, which means a lot of Distortions appear, but what does that mean?"

"These are dangerous things. I heard on the news that they are usually destroyed."

"That's right," he nodded. "But it's not a safe thing. It's easy to get in, but hard to get out. That's why we even have several special groups of Gifted for this in Whitestone. And there are plenty of mercenaries who do this. They have a lot of different squads that fight among themselves… Although you don't need that; I think you get the gist of the matter."

"Yeah."

"In general, there are plenty of interesting things in the city. It's impossible to list them all at once."

"Alaric Torvayne, why are there no buildings around the school? I looked out the window and saw only a lake and a forest."

"Silvermere Lake and the Wraithwood Forest," the master corrected me.

"Why Wraithwood Forest? Are there wraiths there?"

"Because that's what they called it a thousand years ago, and that's what it's been called ever since," Alaric smiled. "What questions from you, Miles; you're never boring. Okay, let's move on."

He walked along the path towards the residential block, but he still didn't answer my question, so I had to repeat it:

"Alaric Torvayne, you still haven't said why there are no buildings near the school?"

"Normal people don't want to live next to us, Fielding; what can you do," he replied, not slowing down. "You can't force them, right? There were attempts a couple of hundred years ago, but they still scattered to neighbouring cities, so in the end, we decided it was better this way."

"I see. And why do all the students have different stripes on their uniforms?"

"Why everyone? Each class has its own. The dark classes have their own type of stripes, the elemental classes have their own, and so on… Have you logged into your personal account on the school website yet?"

"Nope. I just arrived yesterday, so I didn't have time."

"After our walk, read it," Alaric advised me. "A bunch of questions will disappear right away. At least you'll know what classes exist in Pendragon."

Good idea. I decided to do just that.

"Just don't forget to get your credentials from the library and change your password later, got it?"

"Yeah."

Meanwhile, we approached the six-story building where the students lived, near the entrance to which I saw exactly the same Board as near the main building. So there's one here too; we'll know.

"Well, what kind of building is this, I think I don't need to tell you?" the master asked me, passing by it.

"I live here, Alaric Torvayne. On the second floor. Only my windows face the other side; there's a park there."

"Well, yes, this is a residential block; all the students live here—a student dormitory, as you call it. Five courses—five floors. Teachers are separate—in another building."

"There are six floors here, aren't there?"