Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Beyond the Border: She... As the Rumors Said

Mont Dia is the only academy catering towards the production of mages, aiming to conquer malicious demons – that was the definition as per the students within the academy. It was the only Mage Academy in existence within the entire Andromeda plain, and students came from the highlands, and the lowlands. Majority of the prospects were scouted, some grew up with the mindset that this is the only path that they need to take, and the rest were something like passing by and just went out of the interest within the possibility that they could be a prospect.
Lucille was of the third type. He didn’t exactly planned on growing up to be a mage. He wasn’t even scouted. He was just there, took the prospects exam, and became one of the top students in the academy. He had already been in the academy for 15 months. He had already been promoted towards the next level from being a Novice – a transcendence. One of the few first ones from his novice batch. But the way that he was stuck on being a transcendence for about a year (and counting), he wasn’t all too satisfied even though the masters had been telling him that the transcendence had always been the most difficult level within the academy. And he believed it. However half-hearted, he believed it. That is, until that encounter.
Never in his stay had he encountered a Novice such as red-eyes from yesterday.
He replayed the scene over and over from his mind, analyzing any detail that might explain what the Novice did with the demon. He recalled the bright light, the spot where the demon disappeared from, and what the novice was doing. Nothing. It was all too general.
He knew that he couldn’t just ask anyone about this incident. This goes beyond Mont Dia. Beyond what they are being taught. Exterminate and Overrule – were the core values that they were being taught. Prospects were being trained to be mages, one who would kill a demon on sight. And what she did, for what she claimed that she would do, was out of the line. It was a crime of high treason.

. . . . .

The good thing about being the kind of guy Lucille is, was that no one cares about him.
He wasn’t really one of those types that just escapes your attention. He looks fine. Handsome even. From his novice batch, he had always been the first guy that girls notice, guys approach, even the masters. Lucille had been gifted with the endless possibilities and superior potential. He could have been that popular type with huge crowd and that package that could make him famous in the social hierarchy. But he had an unusual wave of thinking that always goes to show that he wasn’t that. That he was beyond that. He was the type that intimidates people into leaving him alone.
It suits him just fine on whatever cases. This had been one of those cases. He was able to hear things where people would never care if he hears. He wasn’t any worth to be thought off enough to withhold anything from his range of hearing. It led him to identify who that red-eyed novice was.
“Who was that red-eyed chick that Master ____ was talking to?”
“Eh? I saw her talk to Master _____, is she a celebrity or anything?”
“I know her, she was on my Gen-Ed class! She’s not that good though”
“I think I saw her, she used to be in my demons class… huh? She was transferred from yours?”
He walked by hallways between classes. Occasionally picking out groups of novices to listen into. The novices didn’t mind, they already knew from their first encounter with him that he wasn’t worth any attention. Unless, they would want to relive any… unwanted encounters. The only instance of interaction from this batch of Novices was just one student who mistakenly approached him, thinking he was that accommodating senior. It wasn’t that much of an incident, though that novice wasn’t able to attend the first week of his classes claiming that he was sick – but the rumors were already there about how he stared and the unspoken nightmares that he brought upon the unsuspecting novice.
“I’ve heard she had some connections with the higher masters from the specialized classes.”
“Eeeh?! Was that why she’s not being expelled?”
“She’s never been in a class for longer than a week?”
Even the students and masters of the transcendence class knew of her existence. Though it wasn’t a position that any Novice would actually dream of being into. The transcendence knew far more details based on experience and knowledge of the academy more than the amateur ears. Though, the rumors branched out more far-fetched, no concrete proof, and were just based on the Novice’s rumors. Most masters from the transcendence class were also involved within occasional discussions – which happens when they caught her from the transcendence levels.
“She’s here for detention. She’s quite known for that.” Was a response when he asked one of the masters from his class, the master looked at him rather suspiciously, “Why do you ask?”
That it was a dangerous risk that he was willing to participate into. He smiled relieving the suspicions from the unsuspecting master, “Everyone seems to be talking about her, I was just curious.”
Her reputation is a mess. There were those rumors from here and there about various things leading from hypothesis to the most outrageous outcomes. From what he could tell was this: She’s known to the Masters as a troublemaker, worthless, and stupid; she’s admitted to the school based on connections rather than willingness or potential; and the student body called her Detention Phoenix.





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Second Chapter.

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