Book 2-19.3: Discoveries
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Today was the 1st Day of the Season of Air and the beginning of Yuriko’s first term in Sharom Academy. The past couple of weeks were relatively uneventful aside from her efforts to adjust to her new living conditions.

She didn’t have a roommate assigned yet so she had the entire suite to herself. It was similar enough to Shepherd’s Cross’ rooms that a couple of times she woke up thinking that she was still back there. The entrance opened into an antechamber with shoe racks, a coat closet, and a hat rack. It then opened directly to the common living area that was a squarish room five paces across. There were a couple of armchairs, a three-seater sofa, and a small table in between. There was also a dining table but she’d probably use that more for writing or reading than actual dining since most of her meals could be taken at the cafeteria or in the many cafes and restaurants in the city.

Two doors at opposite ends of the living area led to the bedrooms, both facing east and overlooking Golden Willow’s central courtyard. The bedroom was about half the size of the living area, had a nice twin-sized bed, a desk, and enough wardrobe space to fit more than triple the number of clothes she had. There was also a small vanity where she placed her hairbrushes and ribbons. The lanyards she purchased hung next to the mirror. The toilet and bath were connected to the living room and she was quite pleased that it had a bathtub. The living room had windows that faced north with a view of the road that led to the dormitories.

Over the next few days, she invited Krystal, Millie, Ishika, and Danika, who came up to the city a couple of days after registration started, over for afternoon tea, or training. The other four girls managed to snag a deluxe room together.

After a couple of days from move-in, Yuriko’s routine had been set. She did her usual morning training though this time, she ran around the Central Reserve for a single lap. The circumferential road was about three and a half longstrides long, and Willow Road was about four hundred paces from there to the dorm. A bit shorter than her usual route but that wasn’t so bad.

She continued in the central courtyard for the next phase--flexibility, agility, or strength training--then spent another hour performing the sword dances. The first two phases mostly kept her in shape while she progressed daily with her understanding of the three sword dances. Afterwards, she would spar lightly with Danika, who was quite skilled with the spear and shield, though she was much worse than Heron.

Boys weren’t allowed in the Golden Willow beyond the lounge unless accompanied by a resident and that area was never bereft of them. She had taken to avoiding staying there simply because whenever she sat at the table or maybe at a couch, a whole bunch of boys would flock around her and bombard her with inane questions.

Yes, she’d already eaten. No, she didn’t want to have afternoon tea. No, she didn’t feel like taking a walk with them, not when their conversation was mostly about who their parents were, what her lineage was, and if she was currently attached. Saying no to that last question made their eyes widen and their nostrils flare and then they wouldn’t leave her alone. She was half tempted to lift them bodily and toss them away.

Most of them were annoyingly weak, she realized after an incident when one of them, an auburn-haired boy with pleasant enough features but a haughty look in his eye, grabbed her arm when she tried to excuse herself. She had immediately grabbed his wrist, twisted it to force him to let go, and unfortunately, broke it in the process when she used a bit too much strength.

Though maybe she should have done that sooner since afterwards, nobody dared to touch her again. Still, it didn’t stop the pestering. Why would she want to waste an afternoon with them, she barely knew any of them. Most of them were older than she was, too. Didn’t they have other things to do?

So after the third day, she avoided the lounge like a plague. There were few students up and about in the pre-dawn light, so she had her peace while running. She complained about it to her friends but other than Krystal who sniggered, Millie, Ishika, Danika just gave her a level look and changed the subject.

After her morning training, she headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. There wasn’t much of a choice for the meal, it was either Set A or Set B. The first usually involved bread, breakfast meats, fruits in season, and a mug of tea. The second was a bowl of oats garnished with her choice of fruits in season, cheeses, and the same mug of tea. The morning news pamphlet was also available at the cafeteria.

Most of the news were announcements made by the Legion Agminis on the state of the country’s safety. There were several editorial pieces about how Ivala City had been growing even more aggressive of late. They’ve been building forts and trenches on their side of the border at the Aegeas Plains.

There were rumours of the continued development of non-Animatech too. There was even one wherein the City State of Ekelus, further south of Ivala, had made a contraption that approximated an Animadriver used to move landcrafters and haulers, but using nothing but fire, water, and steam. Foolishness, Yuriko shook her head at it. It moved their wagon without using Animus, yes, but they used up more than half of the space for fuel.

There were also reports of thefts on the cargo quay, but since there weren’t much details of the thieves or what they stole, Yuriko just read past it. There was a page that reported on what happened in Western Rumiga, where Faron’s Crossing lay. Most of it was of the rebuilding, a list of the dead, as well as some financial reports, and a call for new settlers.

Once in a while, Heron, Zeyn, and the twins would ask her to spar with them. They did it in the Great Reserve or the woods south of the girl’s dormitory. Krystal and the other girls joined in sometimes, though more often than not, Millie and Ishika just watched. Maryn Shaun, another of her yearmates, arrived nearly a week after the registration started, just in time to catch the tag end of it, and enrolled in Sharom. She didn’t want to pay for the suite and took one of the deluxe rooms with three other girls from the provinces. She spent a lot of time with them though, chatting often with Ishika and, for some strange reason, Zeyn.

The morning of the turn of the season dawned with a bit of a chill wind. Because the city was up in the mountains, the end of the Season of Fire grew progressively colder. Yuriko woke up early, though she was a bit discomfited. Her women’s troubles had begun again, staining her underwear with a bit of blood. Thankfully, she was better prepared this time.

There was a bit of cramping and the feeling as if someone was pinching her tummy but on the inside. The pain pulsed through her entire middle every now and then. Frowning, she cycled Golden Recovery and it receded. By now, she could circulate that pattern while walking and doing her everyday things, though when she moved more vigorously, during training or sparring, it wouldn’t work. The circulation pattern also couldn’t be used simultaneously with other techniques.

Well, as long as she didn’t have to use her Animus for something else, she could easily suppress the discomfort her menses caused. With a sigh, she did her morning ablutions, washing her stained smallclothes in the bathroom and leaving them there to dry. No roommate means no one would be bothered by her airing laundry in the showers.

She proceeded with her morning training regimen, though she cut short her sword dance practice since she wasted a bit of time this morning. She returned to her room, took a bath, and put on the new uniform. It had been sent to her a couple of days ago and consisted of a white button-down, long-sleeved blouse with some ruffles down the front, a black bow for the neckline, a grey pleated skirt that hung to her knees, and the Sharom overcoat. It was dark blue with a white sunburst over her left breast, a double row of silver buttons, and came down just above the skirt. Dark stockings and a pair of black leather shoes completed the uniform. The shoes were surprisingly comfortable, though they didn’t provide the best footing. She’d have to adjust her stance in case she had to fight in these or just plain kick them off.

A lighter blue beret with the Sharom crest, three silver sunbursts in a triangle, went on last after she gathered her hair in a braid and ponytail. Her side-blade went over the coat, through a loop on the side to hold the sheath. She’d oiled and polished her blade as well as cleaned and restained the leather of her sheath, and polished the bronze locket and chape. The golden pin for the Elite class went on the collar.

There was a general assembly for all students of Sharom in their main hall. She straightened out her beret, placed her safe pouch and coin purse into the inner pockets of the coat and left her dormitory room. She had enough time for breakfast since Sharom was quite close to Golden Willow.

Krystal met her at the cafeteria, looking quite dashing in her red overcoat with golden stripes on the shoulder. The rest of the uniform was pretty much identical save for the colours, and the crest on the beret. Agaza’s crest had crossed rifle-blades. Krystal had a side-blade on her hip, too.

“Well, first day of school.” Krystal grinned. “Have fun, I hope?”

Yuriko sighed. “I thought I’d be in Agaza with you. Well, I suppose we’ll see each other after classes and during the reserve officer training on weekends.”

“Right, that starts on the sixth, doesn’t it?”

“Uh-huh.”

The two of them ate quickly. Maryn and Ishika wore the same uniform as Yuriko, while Millie wore Lunette’s black overcoat with a red stripe on the left. None of the girls enrolled in Aneurin, otherwise, there would be all four colours in attendance.

At the Central Reserve, Yuriko, Maryn, and Ishika turned right and headed to Sharom, while Krystal crossed the park with Danika. Millie headed to Lunette from the dormitory.  A constant stream of students walked along the road. There were about a hundred new students for Sharom. The other Academies had more freshers. A bit less than half of these were from outside Rumiga City, hence living in the dormitories. The other half came from the Upper or Mid Rings, most choosing to commute from home.

Yuriko waved to Orrin when she saw him walking down the road in a clump with two dozen boys. Their overcoats had a more masculine cut, meaning it didn’t cinch much at the waist. They also wore slacks and their shirts didn’t have ruffles. Orrin waved back happily and separated from the bunch. He didn’t notice the sharp glares the other boys were giving his back.

“Good morning, Yuri! Maryn, Ishika.”

“Good morning, Orrin,” Yuriko greeted. “Had a good night’s rest?” She continued in an undertone, “Your dorm-mates seem to have a problem with you.”

“Huh, oh, don’t mind them,” he answered with a smirk.

“It’s your back.” Yuriko shrugged. “This uniform’s a bit warm, isn’t it?” she complained.

“It’ll grow colder in a few days.”

They all filed into the assembly hall just behind the main building. It was a covered area and an elevated podium at the end. There were hundreds of chairs arranged in rows of twenty. ‘I hope this doesn’t take long.’ Yuriko thought.

The Elite section was up front, so Yuriko left the others to find their own seats while she made her way there. About a dozen of her fellow Elite students were already there, though only a couple in her year, she thought. She recognized Ella-Mai seated alone, and since she knew none of the other Elite students, she walked up next to the blue-haired girl.

“Hello, Miss Wol, I didn’t think we’d both end up in Sharom.”

“Oh, Miss Davar,” the other girl stuttered, “what a surprise. From your performance during the trials I would have expected you in Agaza, not here.”

“Well, that’s how things fell through. Is this seat taken?’

“Not at all, please.”

“Thank you.”

Yuriko sat in comfortable silence while waiting but she felt Ella-Mai fidgeting. The other girl didn’t seem like she wanted to talk when Yuriko glanced at her so she focused on the stage about five paces away from her and waited. Eventually a group of adults, the teachers she presumed arrived, though not before the rest of the Elite class and the regular students came. The noise settled down when an elderly man walked in front of the podium.

He was a distinguished gentleman, wearing the same overcoat as the students did, except he had golden braiding across the shoulders. He had a neatly trimmed goatee on his face, as dark as the hair on his head.

“Greetings!” His voice carried easily across the hall and cutting the chatter dead. “For the new faces in the crowd, I am Ianis Weir Esras, dean of the Sharom Academy, and I welcome every single one of you to the new academic year!”

Scattered applause came from the students in the back. Yuriko clapped her hands for a while, but stopped after a few moments.

“You are now part of the Empire’s elite and even better, you are part of the select few chosen to study the mysteries of Animus and Anima. Make no mistake, what you learn in these halls will bring you above your fellow students, for only here can you learn to harness the Chaos to your will, and use it for the betterment of the Eternal Empire! You, and all of your fellow students, even across the other academies, are the shields of the people, and the Empire’s spear against its enemies. Here you will learn how to harness the light, the flame, the earth, and the wind!”

The dean nattered on for a while. About half an hour’s worth of what should be an encouraging speech. Except Yuriko felt hollow inside. She really would have preferred Agaza and its martial culture. Now she was probably expected to memorize runescript and read dozens of books a week. Would she even have time to hone her sword dances as time went on? She leaned back on the chair, fighting back the melancholy rising up within. It’s been nearly an entire season and Da wasn’t back yet.

She rubbed her belly absently while her Animus slowly circulated Golden Recovery. Well, maybe the hollow feeling was due to that instead. Well, she hoped the rest of the day was more exciting than the dean’s boring speech.

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