File 3
Date: September 1st, 808 E.C.
Time: 12:00
Location: Twilight University of Magic (District 17)
I took the elevator up to the eighth floor of the building. It was shocking how the building's exterior looked old but the inside was newly renovated. I decided to search it up and apparently the dorms which I am staying in were just renovated a couple of years ago, thus all the facilities were relatively new. Some of the photos of the dorms caught my eyes and I finally found one of a unit in this dorm complex.
In most college dorms, you are forced to share a room with a roommate for your first year. However, with Twilight University dorms you get your own room to yourself for all four years but that's not all. The room itself has a lot of perks. Besides the main living space where you would put your desks and your bed, there was also enough room for a small entertainment center and a bookshelf. Towards the entryway of the room, there was a kitchen equipped with all the essential appliances and a door off to the side of the foyer that leads to the bathroom. I couldn't find any images for the bathrooms but looking at some of the dorm set up, it seems like the dorms were a comfortable place to live. Actually, it would be wrong to call them dorms. I think the more accurate term for this would be an apartment.
Now I understand why room and board were so expensive here. This is a perfect example of the more money you pay, the higher quality goods or services you receive.
Ding.
The bell on the elevator rings as I arrived on the eighth floor where I was greeted by a long, bright, hallway painted in a light blue color. There were clouds painted in the background of the walls which seemed to move along with my movements. There must've been some complex Array engraved into the painting to allow the paint to do that. Even though it was a very nice hallway, I was surprised not to see anyone in the hallway. I mean it was the week before classes begin so you would typically expect the hallways of the dorms to be rather busy but apparently not. Maybe everyone was still in their dorms, or maybe some people still haven't settled in yet, maybe they all went out, it's a nice day after all.
I glance down at my key card as I scan the doors left and right for room 814. Of course, typical me being the clutz and unaware person I was, I bumped into something hard causing me to fall back on my bottom, my suitcases following me in kind.
"Watch where you're going." Said a masculine voice directly in front of me.
I tilt my head up to get a better look at him. Not going to lie, he was extremely handsome. If we consider Ian as good looking, this dude was ten leagues above him that even Ian would probably go blind. Holy shit. Yet funny enough, I didn't feel like I was going to drop dead for him. It was as if he was just any other guy you see walking around the city, his presence not radiating like the sun. It was as if he were the eclipse, the moon covering the bright sun behind it. However, I couldn't shake off this feeling that I've met him before. Maybe it was just my imagination and all since there were many people who looked exactly like him but I couldn't ignore that feeling gnawing at my heart.
His golden hair mixed with specks of bright orange was gelled in all different directions. It was messy yet neat, I don't even know how that was even possible, and it suited him. Through the strands of hair, I could catch a glimpse of his eyes which kept switching colors. At one moment it was yellow, then in the next it was orange, then it turned blue but his face remained cold, aloof, and emotionless. He wore an unbuttoned blue denim jacket which had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows revealing his white skin. On the inside, he wore a simple white crew-neck t-shirt that paired well with his black ripped skinny jeans and gray sneakers. On his neck, hung a long silver object, it looked like a beast whistle or maybe it was just a normal whistle.
I don't know how long I was starring at him for but it was probably a few seconds before he brushed right past me without even saying or doing anything else.
"Sorry for bumping into you!" I apologized, scrambling to pick up my luggage.
Nothing.
Silence. He just walked away minding his own business.
What a rude guy. Then again, I was the one who bumped into him first but you would've typically expected someone like that to help pick up your things but oh well, it was my fault for being careless. Well, I would've liked an apology but then I'd feel like I was being a jerk. Also, those eyes, was he a Magician?
>>>
Magicians have the ability to harness magic without the need of using a medium. For people like myself or Ian who possess either less magic or a shattered magic core, we can only rely on mediums to cast Spells and create Arrays. The mediums that we use have to have some sort of magic property in order to for out Spells and Arrays to work the same way as Magicians. In the old days, we would call these mediums scrolls made of the skin of beasts or animals but with the development of modern magic, people like myself use sheets of paper laced with magic or pendulums with a magic stone attached to the end of it, a very nice and cheaper alternative for people like myself to learn magic. However, for much wealthier folks and some Magicians they can actually purchase a special set of magic stones knows as a Channel.
A Channel is comprised of five high-class magic stones, very expensive (Can cost millions), with special cases that pre-drawn Arrays engraved into them to inject magic into them. By injecting, channeling hence the name, magic into these empty cases, a person can cast more powerful spells without the need to draw out an Array themselves. However, the biggest downsides about this are that all the Arrays on the cases have to be drawn and each spell embedded on the cases is only enough for a one time use.
So how do you tell the difference between a Channel user and a Magician? As I mentioned earlier, Magicians don't require mediums to casts Spells and create Arrays but they can use mediums to conserve magic. However, the biggest difference is that their eyes can change colors. No one really knows the reason why their eyes change colors but the range of colors can vary. Some say their eyes change colors based on their emotions while others say they change it just for fun. Some say they only change if the Magician experienced some sort of trauma or if they actually use magic. Honestly, no one knows and it still remains one of the greatest mysteries in magic today.
>>>
Leaving that minor incident behind me, I marched off to my room which happened to be right next to where I fell. I guess there are still good things that can happen today. I bump my key card against the scanner and open the door, the red light flickering on it turning blue.
"Wow." I gasped closing the door behind me. "They really weren't joking about the dorms being really nice. It looks way better in person."
The room was fully furnished and brightly light thanks to the huge glass doors which also served as windows. In the foyer area, about 60cm long and 90cm wide, there was a three-tiered wooden shoe rack to my left that went up to my knees as well as a few hangers screwed into the side of the wall on my right. Right next to those hangers was the door to the bathroom which was pretty plain. I take a look at it to find that it's been really well maintained before closing it and exploring my surroundings. Right in front of the foyer small kitchen next to me was equipped with a sink, two burners, a microwave which also served as a vent, an oven, as well as a refrigerator that was slightly taller than the countertop. It even had pots and pans provided.
Moving onto the main living space, I found a desk and a shelf pressed up against the left wall and a naked twin bed on the right. Up against the wall closest to the kitchen hallway, there was a 72cm (28 inch) TV mounted up onto it while next to it was a sliding closet with a full-body mirror attached to one of the doors. There seemed to be a lot of space to put things in there. Even hangers were provided. I shut the door before examining the bed. There was a nightstand with a charging outlet, a couple of drawers for storage, a few shelves, as well as a reading light built into its frame. Man, all I had back at home was the mattress without the bed frame.
There was one last place to check out.
Against the back wall, there were two glass doors, which I obviously pulled open, to reveal a wire balcony two of my steps in length and my wingspan in width. There were a couple of baskets hanging off the rail which I could put some plants if I wanted to and a wooden foldable chair leaning against the crumbling wall.
But the view. Oh my god. It was absolutely stunning.
Being I could see the red-tiled roofs of the adjacent buildings sloping downwards into the valley towards the towering skyscrapers in the city's center. I could also see the edge of the valley where the buildings ended and behind them, the snow-capped mountains out in the distance while below, I could watch students and residents passing through the paved stone roads. I could indulge in the view all day.
Boom.
Suddenly, I felt my body being to sway, the chair next to me falling with a loud thud.
A golden ring of light drew up from the edge of the valley, growing smaller and smaller as it was pinched towards the sky before dispersing into golden specks.
Shatter.
"Ahhhh!" A high female scream came from next door. The door to her balcony bursts open, black smoke emerged from her room. She was covered in soot from head to toe. "Cough. Cough."
"Hey, you alright there?" I asked as she wafted the smoke out of her room.
"I'm fine," She coughed waving the smoke out. "I just need to let my room air out a bit."
"What were you even doing?"
"I was crafting some cases for my Channel but one of my cases shatter because I lost control of my magic output and caused an explosion. Ah, there goes my money. Stupid barrier tremors!"
"Oh, so that was the barrier activating."
"Yeah, the Claura Province is one of the few Provinces still overrun with beasts from the Dark Era, that's why we still have barriers. The barrier can instantly vaporize any beasts below B-Class but anything above that can cause some serious damage."
"Well, forget about that, you do realize there are labs available in the building right next to ours," I said pointing to my right.
She laughed innocently playing with her pointer fingers.
"I was too lazy to get out of my room."
"That's partially your own fault."
"I know," She replied with a hint of guilt. "But can I ask you for a small favor?"
"Sure."
She clasped her hands together.
"Um, can help me clean up the mess. Ehehe. I don't really know anyone here... BUT I PROMISE I"LL TREAT YOU OUT TO TWO MEALS!"
Two meals?! Why the heck wouldn't I accept.
"Okay, deal." I winked giving her a thumbs up before climbing over my balcony into hers.
The space between each room's balconies was no wider than a ruler. Thus, I could easily climb over to her balcony without physically leaving my room.
Forty minutes later, I had finished helping her fix her room with the help of a couple of cleaning Arrays. Her room was a mirror image of my own except the only thing furnished was her bed, everything else was still in their respective boxes. She must've moved in recently.
"Thank you so much!" She said removing the hairband holding together her light pink hair.
"No problem. I didn't have much on my hands anyway. I guess I'll head back to my own balcony."
Growl.
I turn around to look at the girl. Her face flushed turning her porcelain skin a tomato red.
"Hehe, sorry I haven't had anything to eat since last night."
I smile.
"Well, I plan on heading out around two, my tour guide buddy plans to take me around town. If you want we can get some food together."
"Really? That's sounds great! But is it really okay for me to join..."
"Why not?" I shrugged. "The more the merrier. I'll text him telling him that you want to join. I don't think he'll mind at all."
Her face brightened up.
"Thanks a bunch, but if I may ask, who is your tour guide?"
"Ian Winric...he's a first-year Guide."
"Woah, really? Ian Winric?!" She exclaimed, her eyes glittering with awe.
I was confused.
"Yeah, um...why are you reacting this way?"
"I went to the same secondary school as Ian. He was really popular and was ranked in the top five percent in our graduating class. We were in the same Array class for all three years."
"That's cool," I said folding my arms. "Were you two friends?"
"No, we're just acquaintances." She panicked waving her hands in front of me. "How about you? Besides being your tour guide, what's your relationship with him?"
"Not much, apparently his parents are friends with mine but other than that, I don't know too much about him. I just met him earlier today and he's extremely easy to get along with."
"Right? He's literally friends with everyone. Everyone in District 17 knows him!"
This guy keeps getting more and more incredible the more I hear about him.
"He sure is popular."
"Yup." She said popping the 'p'. "By the way, I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, it's Kristina Steinbeck but you can call me Kris or Kristie. And you-"
"Camillia Rowe just call me Cam or Lia."
I climbed back over her balcony into my own, nearly stumbling off the railing.
"Hold up, you just said Rowe was your last name?"
"Yeah?" She replied. "Is something wrong?"
"Are you related to Mayor Aster Rowe?"
"It was that obvious." She frowned. "And to think Rowe was a common last name."
Aster Rowe was the recently elected Mayor of Twilight City. Everyone in Erda knows him as he served as a High Court Magician for ten years. He's also a renowned war hero and diplomat who helped to bring peace between the Erda and the Vurin continents which have been at war together for two centuries twelve years ago. Whoever didn't know him was probably living under a rock their entire lives.
"Well, the fact that you own a Channel made it a little more obvious. Not everyone owns one. Plus, your pink hair is a common characteristic of someone from the Rowe Family."
"Ah, you are correct, I am related to Aster Rowe but I'm not his daughter. I'm his niece. Plus, my family isn't too close to him. However, his daughter, my cousin, and I get along really well ."
"Makes sense or else you'd be getting a lot of attention." I shrugged.
"Haha," She laughed. "I'm actually glad I don't get much attention compared to my cousin. It makes it easier to live a peaceful life."
"It must be nice but what does your cousin do?"
"Hehe," She chuckled. "Get a load of this. She's an elite working under Twilight City's Investigation Bureau."
My eyes widened.
"For real! Wow! It must be really hard for her to get in even with her qualifications. I'm jealous!"
"Even better, she's our age." She added.
"Okay, now you're just making me feel really bad about myself."
"Hey, if you feel bad, how do you think I feel? Now, that I've said a lot about myself, it's only fair if you tell me about you."
"Fine," I rolled my eyes as I unfolded the wooden chair behind me. "Ask away."
"For starters, why did you apply to Twilight?" She interrogated, crossing her hands together to form a lattice.
"I wanted to test my luck. I didn't think a girl like myself from the boonies would have any chance of getting in but my admission came just a week ago so coming here was kind of a last-minute thing. I even had to resend my admission to Arista Array College."
"Are you from Arista or a different province?"
"I'm from Arista." I clicked crossing my legs. "To be precise, a no-name suburban town in the middle of the province where everyone knew each other."
"So is this your first time in a city?"
"Nope, I have relatives in Shorelock, and sometimes my younger brother and I would stay there for the summer. Trust me, suburban girls aren't as oblivious as you think they are."
"Ah, I'm sorry about making that statement, it was insensitive of me." She flushed with embarrassment.
"It's fine, I completely understand." I smiled. "If I were you, I would've assumed the same thing."
"Moving on, I've heard Shorelock is really beautiful, especially when that ocean phenomenon occurs there in July."
"Yeah, that's the time when the spirit fish migrate to the north. You can see them coming out of the ocean at night. Maybe someday you could visit. I don't mind showing you around."
>>>
Every summer in Arista, people would gather at Shorelock to watch the spirit fish migrate to the north. The spirit fish is one kind of manifestation a human soul can possess after they passed. The magic contained in their soul takes on the form of a fish in the ocean and when summer comes, these souls would travel through the night sky to the north where there is a gate to the afterlife awaiting their arrival. Living beings cannot cross this gate because they would get vaporized instantly just by touching the magic energy that creates the gate (I know this because there are always a few idiots who don't believe what everyone else says and try to walk through the gate only to have their bodies reduced to ash with their souls unable to leave their body). However, that doesn't mean that people haven't had the thoughts of even stopping. There are even some people over the decades that've tried to figure out a way to go through the gate without getting vaporized but to no surprise, they failed.
The gate is just one of those things which we should try not questioning nor testing. Like many others, I've just accepted it as a fact of nature.
>>>
"That'll be lovely!"
I nodded in agreement.
"I think so too. I think we get along well. I can tell you more later. But first, wanna exchange contact info?"
"Of course, I'd be happy to! Does that makes us friends, then?"
"You could say that." I shrugged tilting my head off to the side. "I'm glad to make another friend in this city!"
"Likewise!"
With a click, a tap, and a couple of laughs, we exchanged our contact info. My relationship with Cam was only just beginning at this time but the events that would be coming up very soon would turn our relationship into something I would've never predicted could've happened in that amount of time.
