
84Please respect copyright.PENANASNlTqTjBcO
84Please respect copyright.PENANAedfisETvjH
84Please respect copyright.PENANAeDv4dQjZu1
Thanks to strict academic standards, Cinderfall Academy was brimming with students of high magical aptitude. High indeed, for the academy was ranked amongst the top schools in the Imperium, easily the top in the south-west, based on the magical median. As much a curse as it was a blessing, from where I stood. Stiff competition and multiple curses threatened to rob my standing right out from under me. If I maintained peak marks, I didn’t have to concern mtself with giving up my dorm to Lord so-and-so's brat. Unfortunately, book smarts had limits, and the practical exams were bound to hit with a vengeance. If not for Cinderfall, I’d be back at the orphanage. My anxiety returned, just thinking about it, and I swiped those thoughts away.
84Please respect copyright.PENANA1KjNmq802Q
Nope.
84Please respect copyright.PENANATQrtikgM7R
My anxiety came anyway. Why? Because physical education was next on the schedule. It was the second semester, boys and girls. This is where the world ended, where my inadequacy really prepared to rear its head.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAH1JbASxvJY
So, why was I forced to attend this course? Right, physical eduation was a mandate. It just happened to be one of Calum's recommendations on the road to academic success. Of course, the goal could be nothing but a pipe dream.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAazPtlU7P0M
Blah and bleh roll around in my thoughts, deep in the mud pit.
84Please respect copyright.PENANABTTfoLkOUx
Trudging through concrete arches, wading through hosen, tunics, and what the scholars call pheromones, I began to second-guess everything about my future. Why did I care so much about having a prestigious occupation anyways? Maybe, it’s because nobody told me I couldn’t be a Magistrix? Somehow or another, I would harness the arcane and manipulate elements on a whim.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAZ8vi0YufnC
I beseeched the gods for the power to set my enemies on fire. That is all. Too much to ask? Yet, that ship sailed farther away with every lesson. To channel the mara crystals seemed impossible. Without that basic abilitity, what could I be but a priestess? But, but, but did I want to take those vows? No! I coud never blend in with the clergy or those sisters. What did they need to be strong casters? Zeal! Everybody knows that clergy members need zeal. My zeal was zero.
84Please respect copyright.PENANA8coIxwNcsN
"Godsdammit!" I said aloud. Sauntering down the hall, some passing students glowered at me.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAkJ6jdYVjyE
"Hey!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANA4d87suHbCU
After dallying in the halls for too long, stuck in my head, I tried to hop, skip, and jump toward the arena. And I failed.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAVjYHkpUHQS
"Hey!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANANyzMZ2GRPz
Who was being so loud?
84Please respect copyright.PENANA4voME1jcJz
"Hey!" A random ball of pale skin jumped in front of me: a boy. It startled me so, I almost tripped over the tiles. My hand shot to my cast to keep from stumbling. Who was this boy? Why did he do that? Confusion. Annoyance. Here I was, stuck before the combed and blonde piece of dough in front of me. He wore a silly cap on top of a goofy smile sliced with reddish dimples and a particular incision in between those buck teeth making him appear plumper. Somebody needs to lay off the cafeteria toffee, know what I mean? But then I recognized him. He was in my last class; was he not? Yes, yes, he was.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAsPJocfk88F
"You are Pollux!" he stated, tightening his dimples wit a smile.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAw4ykozuPWH
"Am I?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAu8OedUQ3k8
His face frowned in self-doubt. Gullible little meatball.
84Please respect copyright.PENANA9z3nEgovg6
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I am..."
84Please respect copyright.PENANApOXRXwigRj
"I saw you chant that spell in Tome Study! Are you, like, some savant or something?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAhfEQyb8SvP
"I don't know; that was my first time."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAzhEtN1PLgt
"So, you are a savant!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAnBJdGjCPWI
"Listen!" I said sternly.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAtuFCa7imvt
The little gentleman froze. When he froze, I walked ‘round and right past him, silently. Unfortunately, he decided to follow me.
84Please respect copyright.PENANA4qwUduzm5g
"So, Pollux, are you going to be a priestess? Maybe become Hierophant one day? My mother wanted to be Hierophant, but she said she couldn't because she had me. She said I can be Hierophant, so she takes me to the chapel and teaches me the Sacred Verse. You seem like you know you're way around holy magic, which is surprising! I have never seen you at the chapel! Maybe, I missed you. I ask because I was wondering if you tutor? I bet it's hard, though. Though, probably not for someone as good as you. Where are you going?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAvLIrVp2IRd
"I'm going to Physical Education, er...”
84Please respect copyright.PENANASupYLpUSjh
"Roy!" he said cheerfully. "That's my next class, too!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANA2etYYduI1p
You're kidding. "You're kidding..."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAo8ZeE7xA82
"I bet you're a real acrobat in the field."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAscDeNCBg6j
The fuck does that mean? "No, Ross, I'm not."
84Please respect copyright.PENANACIEfXALVwA
"It's Roy."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAXDmC4dyP5B
"Ron. As you can see," I gestured to my cast with the limp leg within, "I can do neither acros nor batics."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAR6oFbR2Ljw
"Hehe, you talk talk funny. Is it true that you lost your memory?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAGvoJE542dY
I stop. "And where did you hear that from, Roy?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAaqoggJaKam
"I just heard it through the berry vines."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAkeQ0loIPsi
"Berry bines?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAQK1o9hK75y
"Some other students were whispering in class about it."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAkpbcBOCJf6
For such a big academy, word spread spectacularly fast. Maybe ‘twas a fluke, a pebble in the stream. Roy was an anomaly. Most students couldn’t know about my condition, of which there is more than one, one being obvious. I refused to accept it. Sigh. I made my way through the open halls, which were all but empty now.
84Please respect copyright.PENANA30k1l57tQW
"Is it true that you're an orphan?" exclaimed Roy.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAcLLr9tiTE5
Goddess, help me
84Please respect copyright.PENANAMFFUgzB6mS
84Please respect copyright.PENANAPfE83LxVRp
84Please respect copyright.PENANAIHzrwABrBa
Thanks to strict academic standards, Cinderfall Academy was brimming with students of high magical aptitude. High indeed, for the academy was ranked amongst the top schools in the Imperium, easily the top in the south-west, based on the magical median. As much a curse as it was a blessing, from where I stood. Stiff competition and multiple curses threatened to rob my standing right out from under me. If I maintained peak marks, I didn’t have to concern mtself with giving up my dorm to Lord so-and-so's brat. Unfortunately, book smarts had limits, and the practical exams were bound to hit with a vengeance. If not for Cinderfall, I’d be back at the orphanage. My anxiety returned, just thinking about it, and I swiped those thoughts away.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAk0kCYN9dmA
Nope.
84Please respect copyright.PENANA5pe0azQiUP
My anxiety came anyway. Why? Because physical education was next on the schedule. It was the second semester, boys and girls. This is where the world ended, where my inadequacy really prepared to rear its head.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAiuhKPFGoJb
So, why was I forced to attend this course? Right, physical eduation was a mandate. It just happened to be one of Calum's recommendations on the road to academic success. Of course, the goal could be nothing but a pipe dream.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAtwuK3I84HA
Blah and bleh roll around in my thoughts, deep in the mud pit.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAgk1c8Os8bN
Trudging through concrete arches, wading through hosen, tunics, and what the scholars call pheromones, I began to second-guess everything about my future. Why did I care so much about having a prestigious occupation anyways? Maybe, it’s because nobody told me I couldn’t be a Magistrix? Somehow or another, I would harness the arcane and manipulate elements on a whim.
84Please respect copyright.PENANA0rtquvWEan
I beseeched the gods for the power to set my enemies on fire. That is all. Too much to ask? Yet, that ship sailed farther away with every lesson. To channel the mara crystals seemed impossible. Without that basic abilitity, what could I be but a priestess? But, but, but did I want to take those vows? No! I coud never blend in with the clergy or those sisters. What did they need to be strong casters? Zeal! Everybody knows that clergy members need zeal. My zeal was zero.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAPgcfSrszsd
"Godsdammit!" I said aloud. Sauntering down the hall, some passing students glowered at me.
84Please respect copyright.PENANArMR0sknWFW
"Hey!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANArcFSNK7RC6
After dallying in the halls for too long, stuck in my head, I tried to hop, skip, and jump toward the arena. And I failed.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAY7oMUD7bdt
"Hey!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAHyIOsqFzoM
Who was being so loud?
84Please respect copyright.PENANAE9LOP3z1Fb
"Hey!" A random ball of pale skin jumped in front of me: a boy. It startled me so, I almost tripped over the tiles. My hand shot to my cast to keep from stumbling. Who was this boy? Why did he do that? Confusion. Annoyance. Here I was, stuck before the combed and blonde piece of dough in front of me. He wore a silly cap on top of a goofy smile sliced with reddish dimples and a particular incision in between those buck teeth making him appear plumper. Somebody needs to lay off the cafeteria toffee, know what I mean? But then I recognized him. He was in my last class; was he not? Yes, yes, he was.
84Please respect copyright.PENANADr48Ca3wEV
"You are Pollux!" he stated, tightening his dimples wit a smile.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAR5w8jmu0D2
"Am I?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAzlaqxaYOHc
His face frowned in self-doubt. Gullible little meatball.
84Please respect copyright.PENANArAFvbuL7hS
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I am..."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAn1uHiYmTfA
"I saw you chant that spell in Tome Study! Are you, like, some savant or something?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANA2tnKtwyZW7
"I don't know; that was my first time."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAlG6iV3R6aY
"So, you are a savant!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAkqEDFXtc5k
"Listen!" I said sternly.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAq4Rz5lIVnz
The little gentleman froze. When he froze, I walked ‘round and right past him, silently. Unfortunately, he decided to follow me.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAEdENvxjMSW
"So, Pollux, are you going to be a priestess? Maybe become Hierophant one day? My mother wanted to be Hierophant, but she said she couldn't because she had me. She said I can be Hierophant, so she takes me to the chapel and teaches me the Sacred Verse. You seem like you know you're way around holy magic, which is surprising! I have never seen you at the chapel! Maybe, I missed you. I ask because I was wondering if you tutor? I bet it's hard, though. Though, probably not for someone as good as you. Where are you going?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAXGDn079MIV
"I'm going to Physical Education, er...”
84Please respect copyright.PENANAmF1W2ysZZZ
"Roy!" he said cheerfully. "That's my next class, too!"
84Please respect copyright.PENANArxAzZDwb77
You're kidding. "You're kidding..."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAMDwl4pNT78
"I bet you're a real acrobat in the field."
84Please respect copyright.PENANA4p8fmQCb6Y
The fuck does that mean? "No, Ross, I'm not."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAr82uxfUmiL
"It's Roy."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAXxRtd4HR3A
"Ron. As you can see," I gestured to my cast with the limp leg within, "I can do neither acros nor batics."
84Please respect copyright.PENANA0BpHepGsxO
"Hehe, you talk talk funny. Is it true that you lost your memory?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAxmgGcB3JBR
I stop. "And where did you hear that from, Roy?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAfo2dHRUScQ
"I just heard it through the berry vines."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAdOrUa8uinY
"Berry bines?"
84Please respect copyright.PENANAb9aLjHL1rW
"Some other students were whispering in class about it."
84Please respect copyright.PENANAoP7fwmS4l9
For such a big academy, word spread spectacularly fast. Maybe ‘twas a fluke, a pebble in the stream. Roy was an anomaly. Most students couldn’t know about my condition, of which there is more than one, one being obvious. I refused to accept it. Sigh. I made my way through the open halls, which were all but empty now.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAWtKHBCsPU8
"Is it true that you're an orphan?" exclaimed Roy.
84Please respect copyright.PENANAj4WPqKpnUc
Goddess, help me
ns216.73.216.251da2