MidasMan

So found out Scribble Hub metrics do not like it when I post multiple chapters at the same time (one after another in the same hour I mean) so I'll probably spread the posting of the arc over the next day or so to to play to the "meta" of views and stuff.

Months passed, I studied and trained myself to the bone, and the day of the exam (the real exam) has finally arrived.

And I barely slept the night before!

“Oh good, you’re up already,” Mom was rushing back and forth across the kitchen. “I was about to wake you.”

I rubbed the dirt out of my eyes and plopped myself at the table. “Morning.”

Moments later, she placed a plate of food before me. A simple breakfast. Scrambled eggs, a slice of bacon, and a tiny muffin.

“Eat up sweetie,” Mom called out from her room. “I don’t want you leaving the house on an empty stomach!”

Truthfully, dawn had yet to break when I ‘woke’ up. I had been tossing and turning the whole night. Sleeping for maybe a couple hours at a time before being roused awake by a mixture of excitement and anxiousness. I’m pretty sure I got at least five hours in total.

Am I nervous?

Maybe? I honestly can’t tell if all I was feeling were pre-test jitters, the kind I would feel in my previous life when I was going for a test, or if I was genuinely nervous. If I was concerned, what could I do? I studied the best I could with what I have and trained with what means I have at my disposal. Going by the difficult, or lake thereof, I had with the pre-entrance exam I’m probably safe regarding textbook knowhow. But if they start asking for practical spell work?

I’d rather not see how I compare against kids who’ve probably had magic tutors since they could walk. If it did come to that, I think I’m good enough to pass. But that’s hardly an objective opinion now is it.

Amid my mental woes, I hadn't noticed Mom take a seat and start digging into her breakfast a well.

“So how about a story?” Mom abruptly broke the silence that had settled over our meal; no doubt seeing my intense staring at my plate without eating and putting two and two together.

“Wait, a what-”

“When I was your age, I got really into this board game” she began, ignoring my comment. “I forget the name, but it was kind of like chess. Just with more pieces and some light gambling.”

This is kind of random, I mused.

“So, when my parents were at work, I’d play with their friends who watched me while they were out. I beat them. Every time single time,” She picked at her food with a nostalgic smile gracing her lips. “They went easy on me, at first. Being a kid and all that. But when I kept beating them, they actually started to take me seriously. They kept losing of course. Most took it with grace, telling me how bright I was. Others got into a huff about being out played by a child.”

Wait, is this one of those ‘pride comes before fall’ type stories? The ones where the hero is too proud, picks a fight with someone way better than them, and losses because pride blinded them?

“But then one day, my Father came home early. He saw the board still out, Uncle Kredon at the table with me, and all his pieces taken by me. Also by my side was a half-filled purse of coppers and silvers. Father asked what I was doing. ‘Winning’, I told him. Uncle called me a she-devil.” She hummed happily at the memory. “He asked me how good I was, I told him the best. He looked at the purse, then at me. Giving me this smile, he told me to set the board for a new game. That he was going to play me now. I asked him what he had to offer. So, he fished out a coin purse, opened it up and showed me it was filled with silvers and a few gold coins. If he won, he got everything I ever won and hadn’t spent yet. But if I won, he’d give me the purse. I was a kid, he was offering money, of course I accepted!”

Okay, so he offers you the purse. You play him, lose, and get a valuable life lesson about pride.

“So, money out, the game started,” she snorted under her breath as if remembering some joke. “And just ten minutes later, it was a draw. No winner. Father offered to play again. I wanted that gold so badly, so I accepted. I was so confident I could beat him now that I knew how he played. So, we set the board back up, and it was another draw. And I challenged him again. And again. And again. By the time Mother got home, we were on our thirtieth game. I was beyond frustrated by that point. So, I demanded one last game. He accepted. Big mistake on my part, because rather than a draw, I lost five minutes later. He changed up his moves at the last minute and I played right into a trap. I was so mad that I threw the board, pieces and all, against the wall and stormed off.” She looks like she wanted to cover her face.

Well, that's one way to take a loss.

“I was so embarrassed with how I acted. Father came up later to check on me. He took my fat winnings purse from me. But after that, he sat me down and asked me why this happened. I told him it was because he won.”

Because you were too proud, I wanted to add.

“He told me it was because he didn't lose. That’s why he won in the end.”

Wait what?

“That look,” she addressed me now, a knowing finger pointed at me. “Is the same one I had. Yeah, threw me for a loop too. So, I asked him what he meant. He told me that when you do anything involving something you hold dear, never base your goals around winning or losing. Always play to not lose. I didn't get it either. But thinking back on it now, it’s simple. Basically, if you win, you gain something. If you lose, you lose something. If you don’t lose, sure you didn’t gain anything, but you didn’t lose anything either right?”

“That sounds convoluted,” I quipped.

“I told him something just like that when he explained it to me,” she answered. “He could probably say it better than I can. It’s basically a mind thing; not winning something is considered worse than not losing anything in your head. Just how people work.”

“So, what’s the point?”

“Well, it's all a mental thing. If you play, or do anything really, against a person who thinks only in terms of winning and losing, you can really mess with them. Make it so they don’t lose, they’ll see it as them not winning, they get frustrated and try again. Do this a few times to get them off balance and expecting you to do a certain thing, then change the game and go for the throat. Metaphorically of course!” She quickly added the last part.

“So, you’re saying, just try not to lose?”

“You should always try to win, of course. But if you can’t do that, not losing is the second-best option! You don’t lose anything, and no one considers it a loss either!” She seemed proud of her logic.

Before I could question her any further, like where my newly discovered uncle and grandfather were now, there was a knock at the door.

Mom got up and walked over, “who is it?”

“It’s me!”.

Noly, you're supposed to say who you are, not ‘it’s me’!

Low and behold, the door opened to reveal Noly. The red head was wearing her recruit uniform. Essentially, a tanned leather outfit with a pair of short-shorts and boots. She had a small knife sheathed along her waist, but no bow. They keep those at the lodge according to Noly.

“Hi Miss Amiria!” Noly beamed.

“Oh Noly, it's so good to see you,” Mom scoped the girl up for a tight hug.

“You too Miss Amiria,” she answered. Mom put the poor girl down after a moment of embrace. “Oh!” A lightbulb went off in Noly’s head. “Mom wanted me to give you this!”

She fished out a letter from a pocket. As the envelope exchanged hands, I could hear a subtle clinking of coins scraping against one another from within the parcel.

“Why thank you dear,” Mom happily accepted the parcel. She opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. Her eyes narrowed, skimming it at a frightening speed. She tsked at whatever was written on it.

“And one other thing,” Noly added. “Mom told me, to tell you, that ‘he was talking’.”

"Was he now..." I heard Mom mutter to herself, her eyes seemed to seethe in silent rage; but it was gone a split second later.

She looked back at Noly, her expression returning to normal at a frightening speed. “Thank you for telling me sweetie! Now I need to get ready for Syllia’s big day.” She folded the note into her pocket. “Why don’t you two chat for a few minutes while I get ready.”

As she walked out, Noly rushed over to the seat next to me.

“So, how do you feel?”

“Nervous actually,” I told her. I mused about it.

The exam as I understood it, from Firebrook, is a four-day affair divided into two parts: the written and practical parts. The written portion took up three whole days, the practical part was on the last day.

Day one was some kind of meet and greet with fellow test takers followed by a quick quiz on magic theory.

Day two, was devoted solely to an essay. What was the prompt? Won’t know until the actual exam was given to me!

Day three, a meeting relating to the essay part of the exam.

Then, day four, practical magic. Complete wildcard as far as Firebrook told me. Anything could happen.

Simple as it sounded, it was not knowing that got me the most worked up. Sure, the preliminary test was easy, but would that follow suit for the actual test?

Noly wrapped her arm around my neck, “You have nothing to worry about Silly! You’re the sixth smartest person I know, you’ll do great!”

I shot her a look, “the sixth?”

She hummed an affirmation, “Yep. First is Dad. Then Mom. Then the old Bat. Then Instructor Sylvian. Then Instructor Elyssia. And then you, tied with me of course!”

“I’m tied with you?” I genuinely couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

“Yep!” Wow. “Need I remind you who, out of all the recruits, didn’t accidentally poison themselves in survival training?”

Ughh, this story. Yes Noly, you were the only one who didn't get food poisoning from your survival test. But by your own words, that’s not because you knew the plants were poisonous, you just stuffed yourself with berries that made you sick for a different reason! So, you couldn't eat the stuff that made everyone else sick!

Kind of brutal, but a pretty effective way of teaching kids not to play around with survival skills. Kids learn not to play with fire after burning their fingers, and kids learn to actually read the pamphlets handed out to them by their instructors by getting sick from not reading said pamphlet.

Rolling my eyes, I got up to put my plate in the sink.

“Silly- Sillya,” she spoke in a calmer voice than normal. And used my full name. Guess it’s serious time. I turned back to her. The hyperactive smile she always has on was replaced by a somewhat more muted one.

“You’ll blow them all away. You've practiced for months.”

“And some of the other kids have trained for years,” I blurted out.

“And you’ll beat them,” she turned me around to face her, “just like that.”

“Just like that?” I repeated.

“Yeah, just like that,” she reaffirmed with a grin. “Like you said, they took years to get where they are, it took you six months.”

She’s right in a sense. I’ve been training, maybe, half a year. I’ve made a lot of progress, mostly though fumbling and learning. But still, it's not all that impressive, for a mage at least. Whereas once I struggled to cast even a single arcane orb, now I can make dozens at one time; but my multi-tasking skills can only really manage three at a time. I can cast a bit of fire magic; after burning my hand several times because the texts forget to mention that you need to shield your hand when you create the flames!

I can also teleport very short distances with blink. Resulting in me getting my feet caught in the ground, ankle deep, because I forget to account for minute height changes in the soil resulting in me falling face first.

And I can even use some frost magic; like making a single ice cube in a glass of water, so long as said water is already cold and I have an hour to kill.

Am I being hard on myself? Probably.

“Thanks.” It's still nice to hear people praise my work ethic at least.

“For what? Just telling you the truth.”

“Still nice to hear.”

“Well, you’re welcome,” Noly looked to the side then back to me, a sly grin forming on her face. “But there is one last thing I can do for you. For good luck.”

“What do you-” I was cut by arms wrapping around my neck, and soft lips pressing into my own.

Noly gleefully took advantage of my surprise and slipped her tongue in between my still parted lips. Not that I would have refused her slippery appendage entry, our ‘practice’ has long since evolved from simple chaste pecks to more heated exchanges. While we haven’t crossed the barrier to more intimate contact, our hands have gotten far more ‘explorative’ over each other’s clothes.

Though at the moment, Noly seemed more interested in using her arms to pull the two of us into a deeper embrace than sliding across my clothed form.

Wrapping my own arms around her, I moaned as her tongue connected with my own. Our wet muscles coiling and dancing with each other. She would occasionally pull back into her own mouth, beckoning me to follow. Back and forth our tongues drifted from mouth to mouth. Always writhing and wrapping around one another in wet embrace. We drank minute amounts of each other’s saliva as the lurid dance went on; only separating for split seconds to gulp down bits of air before our lips crashed back into each other.

Sadly, all things must eventually end.

With one last drawn out lick of my tongue, she pulled back. A faint string of saliva connected the tips of our tongues to one another. While her face no longer broke out into a flood of red when we ‘practice’, thanks to constant kissing we’ve done desensitizing her to the act, she still blushed modestly from the sensations of the act.

Despite myself, the thought sent a flash of lurid heat down to my body.

--

Following Noly’s departure, and a sly grin from Mom with her eyes darting from Noly to me, I got ready and the two of us were off.

I had to throw on this new expensive red-gold mage robe, sized to my tiny form, provided by Firebrook. ‘No use looking like a plebeian in front of proper society' were his exact words. For her part, Mom had put something on that actually looked like clothing, and not her striperrific normal attire. A simple dress, also red and gold colored.

Getting to the Academy was relatively simple after the first time. Just follow the street signs and you’ll end up there eventually. Or just hug the coastal districts and keep west until you hit the Academy’s walls.

Mom held me close as we passed through the Sun Quarter to Dath’Remar. Her demeanor seemed to do a complete flip from her usual personality. No joking or poking fun at me. She seemed perpetually on edge. Looking down every alleyway. Eyes zig-zagging to every person we passed or crossed paths with. Like she was expecting some kind of attack at any moment.

Kind of remind me of the way mother bears would protect their young.

Firebrook was set to meet us at the academy. He said his job was to finalize the last bits of my paperwork. Given that he was the magister that recommended me and all that.

True to his word, he was waiting for us at the entrance of Dath’Remar, manservant in tow.

“Excellent timing Syllia,” His gaze shifted from me to Mom, his face twitching for the briefest of moments. “And a good morning to you as well Ms. Amiria.”

“You as well, magister,” Mom placed her hand on my shoulder and pulled me a bit closer to her. “I see you brought your assistant with you. Is the final bit of paperwork that tiring?”

“Not in the sense you’re implying,” he dismissed her concern. “I Just have to go before a tribunal, affirm before them that I did knowingly recommend Syllia to Dath’Remar and all that. That everything was filled out in accordance with the law. Under pain of imprisonment or death, etcetera, etcetera. Merril’s just here to run back and forth from my office at Silversun to get any necessary files they may ask for. You know how it is.”

“I don’t actually,” she replied, her grip tighten.

His coughed into his hand, “in any event, after I finalize everything, I’ll be off. Back to grade student papers and the like. But do not worry, I shall be here for the final day of examination to see how you perform.” He gestured to a path, “just follow that walking path to the large building with a dragon fountain out front. That’s where all the applicants are gathering. Can’t miss it.” He looked back to me, “ I expect great things from you Syllia!”

“Thank you, sir,” I beamed at his praise.

“Come now Syllia,” Mom cut off any more discussion between us. She began to pull me past the gates. “Let’s not keep the good magister from his work. Like he said, he’s busy.”

He shot my mother a look, then glanced back at me. “While it’s not as urgent as that, your mother is right. I do have several things I must attend to today. Take care Syllia, and best of luck in your exam to come.” He nodded to me, spared Mom a single look, and motioned for his assistant to follow him.

Following that…exchange…the two of us made the rest of the way without any issue.

Thankfully, the academy had put out a bunch of signs to point us in the direction. It felt like the whole academy was closed. I only saw a handful of people along our path. Only servants, at least I assume they’re servants given all the stuff they’re lugging around. No students or teachers in sight.

But we reached the fountain. Firebrook wasn't kidding. Thing was massive! And made of gold! Like everything here apparently.

“So Syllia,” Mom began, we stood in front of the building, “do you want me to go in with you?”

“Not really,” I admitted. I might be in my second life and have outgrown such silly things as ‘embarrassment of being seen with my parent’ but even I wanted to spread my wings and do something on my own.

“Good,” she smiled. “Well then, I’ll be here when you get out.”

“So, what are you going to do in the meantime?” I was curious. The test was going to be a few hours.

She grinned, “in the meantime, I plan on running a few errands in the Sun Quarter. I actually put them off for some time. Maybe meet up with a few old acquaintances.”

“You know people in the Sun Quarter?”

“Actually, they live in the next Quarter over,” she clarified. “It just feels like a good time to meet up and have a nice chat. I just found out they’ve been talking about me to some people. So I just want to ask them about that, and what they were saying of course,” She hummed to herself. “Been overdue for a proper meet and greet for some time. I don’t actually come here often because of that damned....” She trailed off for a moment, then looked at me with a sly grin. “Well, I just don’t come here often. Except when I spent a couple nights with those twins. They were so cute together sweetie. The sister had a cutest cheeks I’ve ever seen, and her older brother had a big-”

I groaned, moving away from her towards the door.

“Oh, don't be like that Syllia!” I heard Mom call out far too loudly for my liking. “They helped pay for presents for your third birthday!”

I swear I could hear her muffled laughter and cackling as I slammed the door behind me.

--

The interior was much larger than the building I entered last time I was here. Like everything elven, the interior was dominated by red and yellow. Red cloth. Yellow banners. Red candles. Yellow fires. Reddish wooden furniture, chairs, and the sort, with yellow cushions. And a good smattering of gold-plated panels. The sheer size of the place, on the inside, was closer to a full-on auditorium than a simple ‘gathering’ room. Had a big stage set up at the end of it.

The room was filled with people. Not so many that it was packed to the brim. But it was well on its way to reaching peak occupancy. Both children and, I assume, parents. Or at the very least caretakers. All of them wearing robes and other finery well beyond my financial means. Some kids even had bits of jewelry on; clipped onto their pointy ears, hanging by near necks, or even clamped onto their wrists.

Of course, my eyes were more drawn to the long tables of tasty treats placed on the other side of the area attended to by numerous servants and with a few people meandering around it. Even though I just ate breakfast, my child-like sweet tooth would not be denied!

I made my way through the throngs of people. Carefully moving around some, and accidentally shoving others. Most gave me a brief glance, before returning to their own conversations.

By the time I made it there, I realized a sad truth. Most of the food had been picked clean. Most of the bins were already being moved off.

But they didn't get all the muffins!

Quickly, I grabbed a tiny plate, which was surprisingly not golden, and loaded as many muffins on it as I could reasonably stack. As I casted off from the table, balancing my tower of muffins, a patch of white caught my eye in the sea of gold and red.

It was a girl with short, almost bleached, white hair.

She was standing some distance from the main crowds. Her robes were a tasteful mix of black and red that seemed a little too big for her. She had some jewelry on, golden earrings with a little red gems. She held a small plate in hand, with a half-eaten cake. She had a serious expression on her face. Her head turning back and forth as if scanning the room.

Lacking anything better to do, I approached her. Strangely, she didn't notice me. Even as I came to a stop right next to her. Or, if she did notice, she certainly didn't show any indication.

Time to break the ice.

Remember, these people are high society. First Impressions are everything!

Play it cool.

Poise and proper.

“Hi, I’m Syllia,” Fuck! Why did that come out like that! That was neither poise nor proper!

As if broken from a trance, the girl jolted a bit, then turned to me. She looked to me, then glazed over to the side where an empty chair was sitting to her side.

“Pardon me,” she muttered softly. The girl began to move out of the way.

“No wait,” I grabbed the edge of her robe. “I don’t need to sit. I just wanted to see if you want to talk?”

That seemed to throw her through a loop if the confusion on her face was anything to go by.

“You want to talk?” she questioned.

“Yes.”

“To me?” she stressed the question even more.

“Yes,” I repeated.

She looked around briefly, then turned her attention back to me. “Lord Emberbirth is over on the other side of the chamber,” she acted as if that was a natural response to my request. “He’s in conversation right now with Lord Flamecrown. Please excuse-” She made a motion to move away.

“But I wanted to talk to you, not some ‘lord’,” I cut her off. “If i wanted to talk to some lord or another I'd say so. I thought you looked lonely all the way over here and just wanted to have a conversation with you to pass the time before the test begins.”

She processed what I told her, “Who are you?”

“Syllia Dawnguard,” God it was still weird calling myself that. I held out my hand. “And you are?”

The girl tentatively took my hand, “Elsia Emberbirth.”

“See not so hard, it’s nice to meet you Elsia!” I shook her hand firmly.

The girl tilted her head, “pardon me for asking, but-” Her voice trailed off.

“Yeah?”

“But-” she continued. “And I mean no offense, but I am not familiar with a Dawngaurd family.”

“Oh,” it took me a second to process what she meant. “Oh yeah. Right. It's a new family.”

Elsia was quiet for a moment herself. “Are your parents seeking ties to the Emberbirth’s at court?”

“Excuse me?”

“It would be an expedient move to increase your family’s standing in a short time. By approaching me, you could appeal to my brother in a less formal manner. Though I think that the method you have chosen to do so is somewhat,” she searched for the right word, “blunt.”

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.” What was she going on about? Brother? We just met, how would I know anything about him or her family?

“You, did not seek me out to-”

Okay, putting an end to this. “I came over here because you looked lonely, that's all. I don’t know anything about your family, or your brother for that matter, until you brought it up.” I tried to get across to her. I could hear murmuring all around us. People stopped their conversations to look at us.

No, not us. At Elsia!

Looks like I was making a bit of a scene.

Oh dear.

“So, you-”

“Like I said, you looked lonely, so I just came over to see if you wanted to talk. If you don’t want to, that's fine, I can move.” I didn't want to make a bigger scene than I already was. I turned to-

“No,” this time, it was Elsia who grabbed my robes. In one word, she showed more emotion than I had seen up to this point. “I’m sorry, it’s fine. Yes, I would enjoy a conversation with you.”

“Okay then.” I looked at her, waiting for her to kick off the next topic. I took a bite out of one of my muffins. All she did was fidget a little and look at me. So, I took the first step, “So, why did you think I wanted to talk to your brother?”

“That’s what all the previous people wanted,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Wait, kids wanted to speak to your brother?”

She shook her head, “No. Adults. It started with Lord Brightstar, he was the most direct. Asked where brother was, and he left after I pointed him in the direction. Then Lady Emeraldgleam, with her son Bem’theas, came over. She wanted to approach him under the auspices of setting up a betrothal between myself and Bem’theas.”

“Wait,” I interrupted making sure that I didn't talk with a mouth full of food. “You’re eleven like me, right?” Elsia nodded. “Isn't that a little young to begin thinking of marriage?”

“You are correct, it’s far too soon for such arrangements to be made,” she agreed nodding. “Brother has also been quite open about not even entertaining potential suitors for either Nicia or myself. No agreement shall be considered until we are in our thirties at the earliest.”

Okay, not what I meant. What I had meant to imply was the whole arranged marriage thing.

“Wait, who’s Nicia?”

“My niece.”

“And, is she here too?”

“In two years, she will be.”

Oh. Younger Niece.

“Then came Lord Kyzile, while not interested in speaking to my brother, he made no attempt to hide his interest in my mother-” she went on and on about this lord and that lady.

Even if I was only hearing one side of the discussion, this seemed almost like harassment. One guy walks over to ask if she would introduce his daughter to her brother. Then another person, a boy our age, tries to, in Elsia’s own words, court her right in front of her brother. Then, another just comes over to sneer at her because she was a Emberbrith and her family did something to his family some centuries ago.

And Firebrook said high society is above the tendency of the poor…..

“- and then after Lord Featherweight left. I was happy he left. His tone is very aggressive and dismissive. After that, I thought it would be best to just wait in this corner for the examination to begin.” Despite starting off soft spoken and timid, she really starts running her mouth once she gets started. Still a bit monotone, but far more animated. “Then you came over and -well, you know the rest.”

“Wow,” was all I could say. During her whole story, I cleaned off my plate.

“Yes, it has been an awkward morning,” she concurred. “But I feel as if I have dominated the conversation. I’m sorry. Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me?”

“Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about the exam.”

She seemed curious, “anything in particular?”

“I mean,” I tried to phrase this in a way that didn't sound like I was rambling, “I know the test has two sections, the written and practical, but do you know anything more about the sections than just that?”
Elsia, hummed to herself, “I am also unsure about the particulars. From what my brother told me, the written exam is not so much about what you write about, but how you write and how you come to your conclusions.”

“Really?”

She nodded, “Yes. I also know we will have partial access to a selection of texts from the library to complete our exam. Other than that, I am unsure about anything else.”

“What about the practical part,” I pressed.

“That is both easier to understand, yet harder to predict.”

“Why”

“Because it changes every year,” she explained. “Most years, it involves a duel between an instructor and an examinee; where you are graded on how you stand against said instructor in a mock dual. Other years, it’s an obstacle course; where we have to use our magics to get through and grade us on how well our problem-solving skills are.”

That sounds like quite the wide gap.

“Basically, the exam is anything the instructors want it to be,” she continued. “They even had exams when the test takers would dual each other in a large melee of sorts, or they would be pitted against some of the senior students.”

“Wait, the older students would battle us?”

“It was all properly monitored of course,” Elsia waved off my concern. “And there is no expectation that we will win. Your grade would come from how you perform, your spell work, rather than victory or defeat.”

That makes some more sense, I guess.

“Well then how-”

“Your attention please!”

A voice echoed across the room. Ambient conversations quieted down, and all eyes turned towards the stage. An elaborately dressed man stood center stage. Just below him, a desk was set up with a large stack of papers.

“Your attention please,” he repeated. “The written exam’s first portion is about to begin. With all due respect, I would request that your excellences, lordships, and ladyships, please vacate the building. A new pavilion will be set up momentarily to see to your immediate needs. All applicants, please approach the desk at the base of the stage. There, you will be given your materials for the day’s examinations. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask the proctors for help. Best wishes in your examinations.”

People began to disperse. Parents wishing their children well. Children offering words of encouragement to one another. Two main groupings of movement formed, one towards the exit, the other the desk.

“It seems like the exam is about to begin, we should go before the line gets too long,” Elsia proposed.

“Right,” I agreed.

We rushed over to line up with the other students. One by one, they were given a number, a stack of papers, and proceeded to the other side of the room where a Procter was waiting for them.

My turn came quickly.

“Name?” I was asked by the instructor.

“Syllia Dawnguard.” I hope my name is listed as that. Kind of awkward if they said they don’t have me.

He looked down the list, looked back up at me, and made a note with his quill. He produced a small card and a packet of papers.

“For the duration of the examination process, your application and testing number is thirteen.” The small card glowed with the number “13” on the face of it. I noticed my name had been inscribed onto the papers with some magic, glowing, ink. Probably an anti-cheating measure. Can't exchange exams if every exam is magically anchored to each test taker I guess.

I accepted the paper and card, “thank you sir, where do I go to-”

“Please go to room thirteen to begin your exam.”

“And where is that?”

He looked up from his papers again, gesturing towards the proctor to the side, “simply show him your card and he will direct you further.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I waited for Elsia to get her number. I showed her my card. She realized what I wanted and flashed her’s in turn.

“17”.

Satisfied, we hurried off to the side where another Procter was directing kids. With a quick look at my card, he pointed to a hallway. Above it, was a small gold plate that read “11-15”.

So that's how it is.

As I made my way, I saw Elsia out of the corner of my eye. She was going down a route labeled “16-20”. I gave her a wave. She responds in kind, if somewhat less enthusiastically and halfheartedly. Probably out of shyness. From our brief talk, I gathered she was probably on the quiet end of the “energetic and somber temperament spectrum”.

Ah no matter! Hope she does well.

Down the hallway, I reached room thirteen. It was a simple room. Desk. Chair. Ink pots. Quills. Glowing crystal hovering above to serve as a primary light source. Small window near ceiling as a secondary source. Seems simple.

Closing the door behind me, I reached out with my mind to sense if there was ambient magic in the room. And oh boy did I find magic! It was like a cool breeze blowing all around me. Yep, this room was covered in runes, glyphs, inscriptions, and all manner of magic nonsense. Probably an anti-cheating measure.

I really hope this exam is not so easy that they think I cheated. Again.

Plopping my little self in my chair, I opened my packet to the first question.

1) What are the four laws of magic?

…..

What the fuck does that even mean?