The wind blows softly against the glass as footsteps are heard tapping against the floor. A blonde woman makes her way to an intricately designed door. "I hope this boy is awake they're almost here" she says as she opens the door and sees a young boy still sleeping soundly. She makes her way to the window and gently opens it; she takes soft glances at the young boy, who is still asleep in bed. The woman lets out a soft sigh with a maternal look on her face as she makes her way over to him. The boy shifts as his dark black hair falls slightly. The soft breeze makes his hair flutter softly, covering his eyelids. She brushes his hair gently with her fingers, moving the hair out the way and behind his ear. She leans in softly and gently pats him "young master, time to get up" she says in a gentle voice. Barely any response from him, she smiles mischievously before poking his side a couple times in a playful manner before he shifts and folds falling out of bed and landing on the floor. "I was just about to get up! Can't you wake me up more gently next time, Liz?" he exclaimed playfully as he chuckled, groggily getting up.
Elizbeth lets out an exaggerated sigh "More gently? Young Master Sora, I merely poked you" she smiles playfully. Lizbeth had already gotten a change of clothes from his closet. Elizbeth laid them out neatly and already folded on his bed as she calmly speaks "You know? Today is special for you, you get to decide the Academy you'll go to this year. Aren't you excited? Afterall this'll be your first time going to school and not be homeschooled, and your skills have been impro-" Sora's gasp cuts her off as he frantically rushed to his bath "I almost forgot! I'll be out shortly!" Sora exclaims excitedly. A feint voice that belongs to a powerful and elegant woman is heard at the door "Elizabeth, please make sure he is well behaved today. The guests will be arriving shortly" A beautiful woman with elegant white, silver hair that droops over her shoulders is now standing in the doorway. Her piercing blue eyes that seem to gently glow explore the room a bit before meeting Elizabeths eyes once more, she gives a small and ethereal smile.
Elizabeth politely bows as she smiles in a maternal manner as she glances at the door where Sora entered for a bath momentarily. "Of course, your highness. I shall make sure the young master isn't causing any trouble for our guests" she says as she looks at her once more. The queen nods gently as she looks out the window, the sun radiates a beautiful light in the room. Her eyes glow and shimmer under the light "This morning seems oddly peaceful" The queen says with a smile that doesn't meet her eyes. She then proceeds to walk away into the hallway with light footsteps that are almost hollow. Elizabeth tidies Sora's bed as he finishes his quick bath.
As Sora finishes up bathing, a noble carriage arrives from afar. An elderly man inside speaks in a gruff tone "The travel was far, far from civilization. I hope this boy is worth the trouble." his glasses shake with the carriage. A younger, more handsome man speaks calmly "I'm sure she has her reasons for being away, Theseus. Considering the last war, this was best for them. We're at peace anyway. About the boy though, everyone deserves a chance. This paper says he is extraordinarily gifted, we'll see." he says adjusting his suit slightly. His radiant red hair flutters with the wind as they make their way inside the gates. He puts away the piece of paper "His age and magical understanding is what piques my interest, He is starting late, yet he mastered the basics in less than a month. Just imagine what he can do in the last few years he will have left in his academic classes." he says in a low tone. The guards let them pass into the property. They notice how enormous and beautiful the mansion is, contrast to how small and beat up town below the mountain looks. The young maids stand before the carriages as they await.
Sora now fully bathed picks out white clothing from his dresser. "I am not going to wear those; I'll look like a grandma" he says. Moments later he comes down to meet the guests. The queen is already there. Theseus bows reluctantly "Your highness, Mira. Pleasure to be in your presence" he says. Mira glances over to the young man who is also found bowing. "You must be Adir. I've heard a lot of your.... accomplishments." she says studying him. Adir raises his head as he speaks "Yes, I am honored. Though I'm sure my doings don't amount to yours, my lady" he says softly. Mira barely reacts and walks away leading them inside. The two men exchange nervous glances as they walk in and follow. Sora is seen in a room, sitting and looking excitedly at the two men. Elizabeth walks in to join as well as she notices the different attire Sora has chosen, she prepares tea for the men. After serving them, she takes her place behind Sora's seat.
Mira sits comfortably in her chair, while the men politely take their seats across from Sora. "Sora, I presume?" Adir speaks as he studies his features. Theseus takes out papers and spreads them on the coffee table as Adir speaks. "I've heard your training is coming along quite nicely, I'm glad. At any of these fine Schools, they will challenge you and test you. Your choice doesn't change nor affect what you study but will determine your peers. Such as, Zanseth, school of witchcraft and wizardry. You will see more humans there, the city is also beautiful. Luxeth, another school for witchcraft and wizardry. In this school you'll encounter different types of students, Elves, which are proud and very prestigious. Beast-like, if provoked they are vicious but generally are kind. Demons as well, since we're now at peace, but don't underestimate them. Now none of these matters are important, only your academic performances. I can assure you that if you achieve greatness in any of these schools, you'll rise to even be one of the greats. The decision is yours, Sora. You qualify for any of these two, keep in mind these are the top schools for witchcraft and wizardry" Adir finishes and examines his face.
Theseus clears his throat and adds "In case you didn't know young man, the greats are the 10 most powerful warriors. Containing Witches and wizards alike, and one swordsman. Their ranks are-" Theseus is cut off by Adir. "We can get to "rank" after he's made his decision and either way, He'll learn more about them in his classes." Adir says softly with a small smile. Sora looks at each paper studying its writing and words. One is black and gold, the other blue and gold. He glanced at Mira while she sips on her tea, her eyes shimmer as she stays eerily calm. Elizabeth gently puts a hand on his shoulder and speaks softly in a low voice "You can decide later, that's up to you. They still have to evaluate your skills and test you. For good measure" she says. Sora nods as he takes a deep breath "I'll decide later, we can get to it then" he gathers his thoughts as he gets up.
"You're quite mature, just know you'll be joining your classmates a bit late. You're Sixteen? Makes you a fifth year, but I've heard you mastered the basics?" He says softly standing up. "I'd like to test it myself" he says a glint appears in his eyes. Theseus groans "I thought we had agreed i was going to do it? No matter let's get it over with" he says reluctantly. The maids' part in the halls to make way for them, whispers are heard. "Isn't he Adir, the one that slayed many beasts in the last war?" one maid says, "He is much more handsome in person" another adds. They stand near the windows inside the building, looking out anticipating the "test". Mira leads them to an open area in the back where wooden swords are hanging against the wall. Adir examines the area, the air is rich and calm as threes are blown softly. Mira and the rest stand under a tree as Sora finds himself standing opposite from Adir, Elizabeth looks almost worried but composes herself believing in Sora.
Theseus lights his pipe in his mouth as he inhales and exhales, the wind blows the smoke away gently. "I hope you know this test is a friendly duel, Sora. You can attack in any way you want. I won't go easy on you, the enemy won't. Do you have your wand yet?" he asks softly as he summons his own wand into his hand. Adir's wand consists of a white handle and base with red intricate lining swirling around it. Sora examines it with wide eyes "That looks so cool, but no I don't have one yet. I can still fight." he says as he takes his stance. Adir merely smirks and thinks to himself. 'I wonder how he can use magic then? Will he just fight bare handed?' he readies a spell "Ice barrage" he mutters in a low voice. Ice shards form in mid-air pointed at Sora, with a swift motion with his wand; the shards fly rapidly at Sora. Sora's eyes narrowed as he raises his hand and sends small fireballs accurately at each shard, the small explosions cause smoke making it a good cover.
"Wandless and incantation less magic? The paper said noth-" Adir stops as he realized Sora as rushed past the smoke and into his line of sight. Theseus's eyes widened "No way, this boy..is doing all this." Mira softly smiles, her eyes eerily glow and shimmer under the suns radiant light. Elizabeth holds her hands to her chest as she smiles proudly knowing Sora is one of the few who can cast magic without a wand and without an incantation. Sora ducks slightly lower dodging another ice shard as he readies his punch, Adir realizes he underestimated him as he tries stepping back. Just then Sora's punch lands into his side, Adir winces. They both go hand-to-hand, Adir quickly realizes he's outmatched in hand-to-hand combat. He smirks "You've been trained well" he says as his eyes glow with a manic gleam. Sora, stays calm as he tries to sweep his legs but Adir apparated a couple feet away. Theseus sighs as he takes another hit of his pipe and exhales "Here we go"
Spells are casted from both sides, countered and blocked by both. The clash of magic grows immensely "You really have mastered the basic of spells; I'll take it up a notch" He smirks as his eyes swirl manically, glowing slight orange. Adir disappears and reappears above the estate looking down at Sora. The air grows stronger as sora raises his hand to look up at him, the sun glistening through his fingers. "This is an advanced spell, affinity, Fire" Adir smiles as he raises his wand above his head and flicks his wand. "Majestic flame" he says softly, the air swirls above him, a small ball of fire grows quickly into a massive ball of flame. Sora's eyes widened, the clouds seem to swirl around, the warm colors fade from the area as the ball of flame is the only light source. Adir's grin can be seen in the dark contrast of the light source, His eyes glowed a darker orange as the flames grow hatter.
"Adir, enough, the boy has passed! This is too much!" Theseus yells but his words fall into deaf ears. Elizabeth's eyes grow worried as she tries to step forward but stops as she glances at Mira who has been calm this whole time. Mira's eyes radiantly glow blue as she looks up at the ball of flame, its reflection beautifully seen in her eyes. Sora lets out a small, frosted sigh, his eyes look determined but slightly wavering. He raised his hands towards Adir as the air around him grows colder and slowly swirls into a small ball of ice as it grows larger. It isn't as big as Adir's ball of flame, Adir smirks "You still want to try it? Fine" he says, with a wave of his wand the ball of flame falls and makes its way to Sora. Sora tries to stay composed and sends the ball of ice forward. As both elements clash, it explodes and the air is sent. Trees violently moving with the wind, the ice turns into small snow as the air grows cold. A small mist appears, Adir is standing before Sora.
Theseus lets out a relieved sigh as Adir calmly approaches Sora. "I knew it'd counter my spell. That's why i sent it, if not i was just going to cancel it. You have a lot of improving to do, but that last spell wasn't just basic. It wasn't mastered but you still managed to cast it, most of my students back at Luxeth can't cast it without straining. Yet, you're still standing. You've passed" Adir says softly as his glowing eyes dim slightly. Sora's eyes widened "You're a professor? at Luxeth?". Adir chuckles "I may seem young but yes, I am a professor, and I'd like for you to join us at Luxeth, school of witchcraft and wizardry." he says proudly. The air swirls as the iciness from earlier has disappeared.
Elizabeth's eyes well up with fondness and pride as she watches Sora's mouth move. Sora smiles warmly "I'll attend Luxeth, Professor" he says happily, despite his exhaustion. Adir gives a soft smile, "I'm glad, I'll see you next month then. Until then, keep practicing. One more thing, that mix of hand combat with magic is a nice touch. I'll be sure to get better in combat; I think you'll have the upper hand in more scenarios. Most wizards barely know how to fight without a wand." he smiles knowingly as he and Theseus are guided away to the exit by maids. Sora nods as he finds himself gently embraced by Elizabeth "Silly boy, don't ever do that again. I know you've grown strong. But if anything were to happen to you, test or not..." she stifled a sob as she tightens her embrace.
"I was fine, no need to be so...dramatic" he rolls his eyes but looks away to hide his soft smile secretly enjoying her worry. Mira approaches "You did well, my boy. I am delighted" she spoke in an eerily calm voice. Her eyes continue to glow softly as it replicates a maternal look on her face. Sora nods softly as he smiles "All thanks to you, mother" he says. Her eyes flicker betraying the calmness in her eyes, she just smiles softly as she walks away. Elizabeth whispers, "That was a genuine smile she gave, I'm sure "mother" really meant a great deal to her" she says softly reminiscing memories of times Mira was motherly towards Sora as a newborn.
"Come now, let's eat. You've one month to prepare and get ready for classes. This'll be your first time around others as well." Elizabeth says as she guides him back inside. The sky clears from the earlier "duel", the air calmly makes leaves flutter slightly. For a whole month he trains, practices magic and studies. His school attire is sent to him as he opens it, a black cape and a set of classy button-up shirts and trousers in a black base color and golden intricate designs. He sighs as he opens a box containing a wooden basic wand. "Finally, my own wand." he lays on his bed as he looks out at the sun setting. "Tomorrow I'll embark a short journey to the city of Elysium. After that... School" he sighs as he closes his eyes and dozes off.