“Oh no, this isn't good…” 

“Enadius, he's been knocked out like this for thirty minutes! Do something!” Ikora pleaded.

Enadius grunted, a dissatisfied look on his face as he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I think I can figure this out.”

“He will absolutely hate it though.”

“Just do it, we need to wake him up!” Ikora responded. 

Enadius took a metal wand from his uniform’s side, spinning it around as he carefully drew a pink glyph in the air. And with a swift flick of his wrist, he finished the last stroke.  Ikora, who was watching him, gasped in surprise.

The glyph began to glow with a bright pink light, and several tiny symbols, resembling flickering flames, appeared around it. Enadius narrowed his eyes and concentrated, channeling his magical energy into the glyph. As he did so, tiny pink particles of magic began to float around his body, creating a fiery aura as he spoke, his voice echoing

“<Ashmosus>” In an instant, the glyph released a fierce burst of smoke and ash, engulfing Slyvern's face in a thick haze. 

Slyvern shot up, and a violent fit of coughing, sneezing, and choking filled the room. Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing Slyvern's ash-covered body. His once-red hair now had dark patches, while his eyes were red and watery, and his mouth drooled as he groaned. 

Enadius fixed his gaze on Ikora and spoke, "Ikora."

“Y-Yes, Enadius?” She responded

Enadius turned to leave the two students, saying "Go to the classroom at the end of the hall once you and Slyvern get fixed up.”

“Also, If it weren't for him, you would have failed this test. You should be thankful."

Ikora tried to speak but was interrupted by Slyvern's groans. She rushed to his side to help him. "Slyvern, are you okay?"

“I’m–” After a cough, Slyvern said "I'm doin’ great!" and spat out a large pile of ash.

Ikora stood still, unable to move, as she watched the ash pile up on the floor.

“What? Never seen ash before?” he asked. 

“No, I have, but I've never seen anyone vomit it out. Does that hurt?”

“Hurt? Nope, the taste is awful though." Slyvern replied while spitting out a cloud of smoke.

“Well, at least you're okay, you can get cleaned up when we get back. For now, let's get to the next room.” Ikora said as she got Slyvern up and helped him walk to the room at the end of the hall.

Once they entered, the two wasted no time and took the two open desks beside each other. Enadius sat at a table at the end, observing the students who shuffled in. It was only a short time before the rest of the students arrived and took their seats.

“Finally, all of you are here,” Enadius said as he stood up. “I have an important announcement, very shortly there will be another teacher arriving to take my spot from now on.”

“She usually comes in during this part of the exams as it's more geared towards her… specialty. Anyway, that's most of the physical portion done, get ready for the–”

Knock

Knock 

Knock

“Well, would you look at that?” Enadius approached the classroom door and held his hand out for the handle before turning to the students. “That must be her n–” He paused when a head phased through the door, getting close to Enadius' face.

“Hmm…” The head said in a flat tone. “Enadius.”

He sighed, “Yes, Anamari…?” 

"Have you grown attached to the new batch yet?" Anamari asked, smiling.

Enadius looked away, rolling his eyes and scoffing before saying. “No...”

“If you say so.” The woman entered the classroom, she was taller and thinner than Enadius with skin as white as snow and hair that flowed like the wind. Her eyes remained closed as she scanned the room. “Hello, students.”

With confidence, she strode towards the front of the classroom where Enadius had stood moments before. As she moved, Anamari said: “<Archrosis.>”

As those words were spoken, two grey and black orbs suddenly materialized out of thin air, and two skeletal ravens with tiny white pupils gracefully landed on her shoulders.

The sight made Ikora slightly uncomfortable, yet it also fascinated her. It was made all the more strange by the complete silence of her boots that made contact with the floor.

“So,” Anamari said, not a hint of emotion in her voice as she took a seat. “Anamari, as Enadius said.”

“Yeah… yeah…” Enadius shifted where he stood. “I’ll leave these students to you now, I trust you got it from here.” 

“Don’t worry.” She dug into her bag, taking out a stack of papers before stacking them neatly on the desk. “I’ve only been doing this for the past 300 years.” 

Enadius nodded, tipped his hat, and walked out. Anamari then phased her hand into the large desk as a pale hand came out of the wall near the classroom door and slammed it shut, making all the students jump.

“Oh sorry, did that startle you guys? I’ll be sure to be more gentle next time.”

“Now then, students, if you don’t mind…” 

As Anamari spoke, the desks grew an odd white aura around them. Suddenly, the desks began shifting rapidly, each following a different random pattern. The students' voices were filled with confusion and fear as they watched their desks move without explanation. Anamari, however, remained calm and patient, waiting for the movements to stop.

“H–Hey! What is this?!” Slyvern shouted while grasping his desk tightly. 

“She couldn’t have warned us that she’d do this?!” Ikora exclaimed.

“I did.” Anamari turned her head to Ikora and Slyvern, perfectly following the movements of their desks. “I said ‘if you don’t mind’, shouldn’t that be enough?”

After a long period of chaos, everything finally started to settle down. Anamari looked down at the papers on her desk and gestured towards them. The two ravens perched on her shoulders, one on each side, and they took notice of her signal. And without hesitation, they flew over to the stack of papers.

Each bird took one into its beak, flew across the room, and handed the papers to the waiting students. Once finished, the two ravens returned to their owner's shoulders. 

“Quiet, just the way I like it,” Anamari stated. “In front of you lies a test, there are around thirty questions for us to see your magic knowledge. You may now begin.”

Slyvern looked down at the test and frowned before turning to Ikora who was now across the room. His friend seemed hard at work, quickly writing with her pencil. “Ikora, how am I supposed to—”

“Also, no talking.” The teacher interrupted. “From my time working here, I realized the talkative ones always happen to be the students who try to cheat the most on these tests.”

She raised her head, her closed eyes meeting his. “To avoid any incident of that happening, I’ll have my little friend watch over you.”

With that, one of the ravens took off from Anamari’s shoulder and perched on a nearby window, watching him closely as he began to sweat.

Scribble 

Scribble

Skritch 

Skratch

Ikora sat at her desk, her eyes focused on the test paper in front of her. Her hand moved across the page as she answered each question with ease. The questions were about the magical subjects she had learned from her mother Elaine, who had taught her at a young age and the countless hours of study and practice had brought her to this moment.

Slyvern, on the other hand, couldn't seem to concentrate. He shifted in his seat, his eyes darting around the room as he tried to ignore the raven on the windowsill behind him. He could feel the bird's sharp gaze burning a hole in the back of his skull, making it impossible to focus on the test. The questions left him feeling lost. Whenever he tried to answer a question, he hesitated, his mind blank. He gritted his teeth and scratched at his desk, fidgeting nervously. 

He only knew a little bit of magic, but it was self-taught. He didn’t have nearly the amount of knowledge on the arcane that the questions asked. Despite his best efforts, Ikora was too far away, now would’ve been a great time for her to pay him back for all his help by giving him the answers. 

In a moment of desperation, he slowly peeked over the shoulder of the student in front of him, finally finding the answers he had been seeking. A wave of relief washed over him as he began to copy what he saw. However, his relief was short-lived, as he suddenly heard his name being called from the front of the classroom.

As he raised his head, his eyes locked onto the teacher’s desk. To his horror, he saw that her once shut eyes were now gaping open, wider than any living person could manage. They were devoid of any emotion or life as if belonging to the undead. A shiver ran down Slyvern’s spine as his heart sank. What was even more unsettling was that no one else in the class seemed to notice or care about the sight before them.

“I’d like you to turn in your test, please.” She stated, her voice flat. 

“O–Oh, I’m not finished yet.” Slyvern replied.

“Now, please.”

He took one more look around the room. Still, nobody seemed to notice or care. Skyvern cautiously walked up to the teacher and held out his hand with the paper.

Anamari snatched it away from him. “Thank you very much!” She said as she smiled, her once threatening stare had been replaced by her shut eyes. It once again looked like she was sleeping. Slyvern didn't reply, instead, he hung his head down trying to wrap his head around what just happened as he made his way back to his seat.

In the back of the classroom, Ikora was nearly finished with her test. The final question read: Question 30: What is the difference between an ice magic glyph and a fire magic glyph?

Now this was simple, she recalled seeing her mother use Ice magic before. Earlier on, Enadius seemed to have used a spell that could only be described as fire magic. 

"The crucial distinction between the two glyphs was in their appearance," she reflected. "Ice glyphs generate snow, freezing air, and snowflakes, whereas fire glyphs emit ash, smoke, and sparks when drawn." Ikora was confident that she had aced the test.

She carefully put down her pen as the final answer was written, took a deep breath, and stood up from her desk. With her paper in hand, she walked up to the teacher's desk. After handing over her paper, she made her way back to her seat and patiently waited for the rest of the students to finish.

Tick, tock

Tick, tock 

After hours of work, all students submitted their papers and Anamari stood up, her ravens flying back to her shoulders as she began to address the class.

"It took... four hours for you to finish the test, it seems like a lot of you don't know anything about magic. But this is why you're here to learn, after all."

“As for this next part, this is the final examination you will undergo. Right this way.” Anamari said as she phased through the classroom door, the students got up and gathered around the door, looking at each other in confusion.

Anamari poked her head in and asked, “What are you waiting for? Do you not know how to open a door, child?”

“No, no, no! I got it!” Ikora snapped out of her confusion and reached out for the handle before turning it, pulling it open to reveal Anamari leaning down in her face.

“Very well.” The teacher turned and led the group of students through the long hallways. Ikora peered out the windows and watched the students outside practicing all sorts of magic tasks.

The students were practicing magic, using brooms to fly, and controlling floating books that behaved like animals. There were even walking plants with roots following behind the students. Some were dueling with different elements to hone their skills. Among them, one particular student caught Ikora's attention. She had rabbit ears on top of her head and was wearing a fancy purple and yellow outfit. She stood apart from the others and was working with a ball of lightning. As their eyes met, the student paused, but Ikora's attention turned away to another part of the field.

Ikora looked around and saw that some of the other students were creating monstrous figures using elements such as ice and fire. Amid the crowd, she noticed Enadius instructing the fire students on how to draw glyphs. A scowl was on his face, and he seemed to have singe marks on his body.

"Right now, we are having a free period. Our students use this time as an opportunity to take a break from continuous studying and refresh their minds," Anamari said, pausing to face the group. "If you have successfully passed the previous tests, perhaps you could be one of the students out there too."

A student raised his hand and spoke. “Anamari, will this last examination affect if we pass or fail?”

Anamari rubbed her chin and replied, "Hmmm No, we're just going to scan your manapool. Do you know what that is?"

Ikora raised her hand. "Oh, oh, I know! A manapool measures the number of manacules, or mana for short, inside a person! The more mana somebody has, the more spells they can cast, and the more complex those spells can be!"

"However, in things like dueling, having a larger manapool doesn't always determine the outcome."

"Very well, Ikora," Anamari smiled. "Now, students, I need you to enter this room one at a time. Once inside, please stand still and wait for the operator to give you instructions. The next student will enter only when the operator tells you to through the speaker."

As the first student opened the door to the examination room, a brief orange light filled the space. The light could be seen from under the doorframe. However, it didn't last long as a voice soon came over the speaker located next to the door.

“Next.” It said as the next student walked inside.

After a long wait, it was finally Ikora's turn to enter the room. As she stepped inside, she couldn't help but notice the bright white walls with a grid pattern that seemed to extend endlessly. The room had several small camera-like devices, positioned at every corner.  

A voice then came over the speaker, cutting through the silence in the room. "Young lady, I will need you to stand still while I begin scanning. The devices you see in the corner will emit an orange light; you will hardly feel a thing."

“Beginning the process… now.” The devices in each corner came to life with a whirring sound after a button was clicked.

As the devices hummed to life, The grid pattern began to glow a warm orange as the devices released a transparent orange light that would scan Ikora's body. However, halfway through the scan, the sound of sputtering began to fill the room, and the orange lights began flickering before going out completely. Suddenly, a loud bang from inside the operating room reverberated through the area, causing Ikora to jump in surprise.

The speaker crackled back to life as the operator spoke. “Uhhh, it seems like there was a problem with the computer. The screen blew out completely, and it's–” Cough cough. “smoking also.”

“Oh-” Ikora said as she frowned. “Does this mean I won't get my count?”

“We'll–” cough cough. “find something out. For now, I need you to step out on the other side.”

She nodded in understanding and made her way to the other end of the room before exiting. There, she was greeted by Anamari and the rest of the students.

“And that is the last part of the entrance exams! A tough three days, especially that hike but, I'm sure you all did rather fine.”

“By tomorrow, we should have all your results back, only then will you know if you’ve become a mage. For now, I will be dismissing you all back to your rooms. That hike and test must've left you all tired.” Anamari stated. 

As the students heard that, they let out a collective sigh of relief and cheered before taking their leave., Ikora made her way out of the large building, feeling drained and exhausted. As she stepped outside, the warm sunlight greeted her, accompanied by a cool breeze. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she tried to recall the directions to room nine, which was her next destination.

“Getting lost, blueberry?” A familiar voice called out from behind. She turned around and was greeted by Slyvern running to catch up with her.

“In case you forgot, it's room nine.” He said.

“I remember the room, Slyvern. But thanks.” She replied.

“Soo, now that the exams are over, do you think you passed?”

“Hope so, we can't be a hundred percent sure.”

“Hope so?! What do you mean by ‘hope so’?” Slyvern jumped in front of Ikora, walking backward as he continued. “C'mon blueberry, you need to have a little more confidence! I know I passed for sure, and besides, I helped you! Remember the trick I did with my wand?”

“You mean the part where you cheated?” She questioned.

Slyvern slithered behind Ikora, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Hey, look, It's not called cheating, it's called using my resources to my advantage.”

“Are you sure about that…?”

Slyvern nodded his head quickly. “And what's up with you? Why do you seem so down, huh?” 

“Where's that smile of yours.” He said as he grinned, using two of his fingers to make Ikora's face into a smile.

“My manapool exam… I didn't get to finish it.”

“Really now? Why's that?” Slyvern replied as the two passed another student. He slithered between Ikora and the student, snagging a deck of cards out of their pocket before opening the box and playing with them.

“When the operator was scanning my manapool, the machine broke down before he could finish.”

“And Slyvern put those cards back. They aren't yours.”

“Yeah, yeah…” He tossed the deck of cards back at the student, perfectly landing it into the person's pocket and pumping his fist. “Anyway, maybe the machine was overworked, know what I mean?” 

“I'm sure they'll fix it eventually, so no reason to be from frowntown!” 

Ikora sighed as she took out her room key and unlocked the door before stepping inside, with Slyveen following behind. “I suppose you're right. I'll probably get my results tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah, question. How did you think you did on the magic-related questions?”

Ikora's face lit up. “Well Slyvern, I'm glad you asked!”

"It was quite simple. Most questions were about the meaning of elemental glyphs and how to differentiate between them. There were also questions about how to categorize a spell's class. Now,  you can do this by figuring out the properties of a spell. Ask yourself, does this spell protect me or give me an edge in a way? Does this spell assist with making certain tasks easier…"

“Blah blah blah blah blah blah...”

“Wait, what the heck is she saying…” Slyvern stared at Ikora, his eyes wide before he turned away. He didn't expect his friend to start going on and on.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to remove this ash from my jacket."  He thought as he walked to their room's balcony, Ikora followed behind. He took off his jacket, wrung it out, and shook it until piles of ash fell out.

As the night progressed, Ikora and Slyvern stuck to their usual routines. Ikora continued discussing different aspects of magic, while Slyvern was busy changing into his comfortable night clothes. However, Slyvern couldn't shake off the feeling of intense pounding starting in his head.

Slyvern decided to ignore the feeling and went to bed as Ikora did the same. Ikora continued talking for three hours straight, even though it was late at night. Slyvern tried to sleep but couldn't, so he turned in his bed and covered his ears with his pillow. Despite his efforts, Ikora kept talking and didn't let him rest. Slyvern wondered how long this would go on for. Would it be several more hours? He couldn't bear it anymore.

Slowly sitting up in bed, Slyvern turned to Ikora and stared at her. His eye twitched as he watched her. He grabbed his head before shouting out while grabbing his head.

“IKORA, PLEASE! I GET IT, YOU LOVE THE SUBJECT! BUT SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO REST!” His shout was so loud you could've sworn the room shook.

A moment of silence hung in the air, and Slyvern massaged his face before reclining. “Thank you, good night…”

“Umm, goodnight…” Ikora replied as she lay down.