“WHAT!?” The confused crowd below could only scream in unison.

“That guy with rainbow hair is Leonardo Da Vinci? THE Leonardo Da Vinci?”

“No way! There’s just no way!”

“But the rainbow hair does sorta fit him? I guess?”

“He looks really good with rainbow hair!”

“I wonder if I can get an autograph?”

The crowd erupted with mixed reactions ranging from confusion to lovestruck. The deadly combination of his identity and the appearance that just isn’t matching the image drilled into their psyche isn’t something easy to process.

“Alright now settle down, we don’t have much time and yet have so much to talk about.” Leonardo said as he gestured with both of his hand for the crowd to quiet down, to which the crowd politely obeyed.

The once unruly sea of noise became a calm windless lake filled with anticipation and expectation.

“Ahem, allow me to introduce myself again to all you youngsters.” Leonardo continued and spoke in a sarcastically narcissistic tone.

“I am Leonardo Da Vinci, great painter, great thinker, great inventor, and great philosopher.” He declared. “But as you have now seen, secretly, also a great mage.” He smiled and looked around, stuck out his index finger pointing upwards and then spun it in around counterclockwise motion.

All of a sudden the coliseum rotated in the same but only stopped at half a circle reversing its position with the top facing the “sky” and the floor below facing the “sea.”

“What incredible power!” An astonished Sylvester said while his mouth hung open, gaping in awe at the spectacle unfolding before him. He was a person, while fully confident in his skills, knew the full extent of his current capabilities and yet the gap between him and the man whose image is projected into the air is simply far far too great.

And yet this large gap presents an opportunity, an opportunity to see just how far he can go! Sylvester’s world grew exponentially with just this one encounter.

He stretched out his right hand towards the image of the headmaster looming overhead, and clenched his it into a fist. After which he crossed his arms into his chest as he continued to listen to the headmaster’s words.

“Right now you are probably asking yourself many many questions, like “how is he still alive?” and “why does he have rainbow hair?” and most importantly “why is he so handsome?” to which Leonardo conjured and hand mirror na checked out his face jokingly. The crowd reciprocated the joke and chuckled at the headmaster’s little skit.

“Well, I’ll answer all that in one word: Magic.” He said as he conjured the letters above his head.

A collective low groan was heard all throughout.

“Boooooo!” A few students shouted sacastically towards the headmaster’s teasing answer.

“Hahaha! Now, now. It’s true though.” He continued. “But to tell you the truth, I simply cannot tell you everything right now since it is quite a long story. Pretty complicated too.” He smiled, and then his happy joyful face morphed into a more serious one.

“Truth huh? I can at least tell you this my dear apprentices.” He paused, seemingly collecting his words inside his mind.

“During the times of my life written in the books of history, I spent most of it pursuing knowledge and applying them. Expanding my mind and gaining enlightenment, and in that enlightenment finding beauty in truth.” He paused once again.

“But sometimes, what you will find is ugliness. A grotesque abomination you simply want to reject.” He stopped and looked at the crowd.

“This academy holds many truths and secrets waiting for you to discover during your stay. And I hope that in this academy too, you will find the strength to face such truths. After all, you should all know by now, magic is more than sunshine and fireballs.” The headmaster’s voce showed a hint of foreboding.

“Now with the slightly serious stuff out of the way, let’s get back on track shall we? Hopefully I didn’t scare you youngsters off!” Once again, Leonardo was all smiles and cheers as the audience struggled to keep up with this rollercoaster of an introductory speech.

“Well, I’m sure there is another question hanging there inside your heads.” Leonardo continued.

“If you all recall, I gave specific instructions to your mentors or parents or guardians whatever, to not mention the name of this academy.” Leonardo began to explain.

“Even the cute receptionist twins didn’t mention the name to you when you met them earlier. Am I correct? It is because of my mandate. The right to mention the name is only reserved to me because it all comes with a little demonstration!” The headmaster again emanated mischief from his voice.

“Huh, so that’s why even those two never mentioned the name.” Sylvester thought to himself.

“Wait a minute, demonstration?” He suddenly caught himself stuck on that particular word.

“Ah now comes my favorite part! It’s better for you guys to piece it all together yourselves.” Leonardo then snapped his finger and all of a sudden the “sky” and the “sea” disappeared. The “outside” changed to a swirling vortex of colors twisting and turning into a multitude of shapes that are hard to describe.

After a short while, they finally made their exit from the vortex and ended up in a black void, bright spots sprinkled all around to break the uniform darkness resembling stars seen in the night sky.

Everything seemed normal, after all it’s normal for stars to appear in the night sky, that is until Sylvester looked down and saw a familiar structure.

Five hands of varying length and three circles dividing and enclosing them. Even further down Sylvester could see patches of land floating in an empty void in close proximity to one another.

“What is going on? Are we in space?”

“I can feel my legs turning into jello. Help! I’m afraid of heights!”

“Woohoooooooo spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!”

The crowd is once again thrown into an uproar over what they are witnessing. Their common sense almost completely and utterly shattered at this point, their minds barely able to keep up with the bombshells dropping left and right in quick succession.

“Normally, this is the part I reveal the name but, today, we have a very special guest with us!” And with those words the projected image of the professor disappeared from view.

“Now, please, everyone do use whatever vision enhancing spell you have and look at me all the down here.” The voice of the headmaster commanded.

“Well okay then.” Sylvester complied.

“Far sight!” With these words Sylvester activated the spell he used earlier during the test. He could now clearly see the headmaster down at the bottom, but there was someone else with him. Wearing a familiar looking red cloak covering the face.

“It’s the girl from earlier, the one with crimson eyes!” Sylvester recognized her immediately.

“First let me introduce you to our beloved guest!” He then gestured for the hooded figure to step forward.

The figure nodded in response and walked forward, removing the hood in the process revealing her silver hair and piercing crimson eyes. Her presence casting a spell of silence on the already weary crowd that was already at the brink of chaos.

“I ask you to give a warm welcome to our special student, Lady Rossa Argentum, daughter of the duke household Argentum from the Kingdom of Vanicares!”

“Kingdom of what?”

“Duke who?”

“Is that an old Italian noble family?”

“Why does she have red eyes?”

Suddenly questions were thrown left and right causing the crowd to erupt in a turbulent sea of murmurs and noise.The headmaster then projected his image high above in order to grab everyone’s attention.

“Right now I would assume your questions are all related to Miss Argentum.” The headmaster began.

“What is the kingdom of “Vanicares”? Duke? Red eyes? and all other sorts of stuff. Well to keep things short and simple. The Kingdom of Vanicares does not exist anywhere on earth.”

The crowd fell silent once more, a realization of great magnitude dawning upon them. They have figured out what the headmaster is about to say next, but will only accept reality once it comes out from his very mouth.

“The Kingdom of Vanicares exists in a faraway world named Acqua.”

Before the crowd could react, the headmaster gestured with his hand to stop making them stop in their tracks, and continued to speak.

“And those “stars” all around? Those are not stars, but rather other worlds different from our own. Different realities and possibilities!”

The headmaster smiled once again. A knowing, playful smile as a brooding silence dropped over the audience like a thick black veil.

“Welcome, my dear students, to the academy endlessly drifting in the void between worlds. Welcome to Inanis Orbis Academy!”