
75Please respect copyright.PENANAaJ97NtR6F2
75Please respect copyright.PENANAtRZv6b3h7z
75Please respect copyright.PENANAX2fc7skvBm
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAYbSr45TdNi
Nope.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAeNm3iNnvSZ
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAhVNuohXmoq
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAQwRDbeqkKH
Blah and bleh roll around in my thoughts, deep in the mud pit.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAdT1SKPeIoa
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANA4vnzgqvkk1
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAufnZvRLSFU
"Godsdammit!" I said aloud. Sauntering down the hall, some passing students glowered at me.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAGbqYEERdvu
"Hey!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAp5LYIWkamd
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAhrLwQJnA8g
"Hey!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAEfSmlrAmIL
Who was being so loud?
75Please respect copyright.PENANAyGALdMr74N
"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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANA2HHTgZsFWg
"You are Pollux!" he stated, tightening his dimples wit a smile.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAEelEbvvYST
"Am I?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAJRDuZy71Af
His face frowned in self-doubt. Gullible little meatball.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAYVLP3ywj7Y
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I am..."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAqL1MTb85Qu
"I saw you chant that spell in Tome Study! Are you, like, some savant or something?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAYPucRKkK1h
"I don't know; that was my first time."
75Please respect copyright.PENANA1jsMzsT3C9
"So, you are a savant!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANA4VPmv35KbE
"Listen!" I said sternly.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAoW7RlPzx0U
The little gentleman froze. When he froze, I walked ‘round and right past him, silently. Unfortunately, he decided to follow me.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAORRkXGzusE
"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?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAVz3Jzx0yCE
"I'm going to Physical Education, er...”
75Please respect copyright.PENANAHlZ5ShgfpP
"Roy!" he said cheerfully. "That's my next class, too!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAVOyMwW1e6w
You're kidding. "You're kidding..."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAhcmtqcpLQG
"I bet you're a real acrobat in the field."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAhokPWob7UU
The fuck does that mean? "No, Ross, I'm not."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAkGo7vt4xSx
"It's Roy."
75Please respect copyright.PENANA1veMA1FU8w
"Ron. As you can see," I gestured to my cast with the limp leg within, "I can do neither acros nor batics."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAySuI4QeCx2
"Hehe, you talk talk funny. Is it true that you lost your memory?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANA64JgCLe5VT
I stop. "And where did you hear that from, Roy?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANADmDT56g0NZ
"I just heard it through the berry vines."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAVfFetmVZnT
"Berry bines?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANA2CyXWgyCP4
"Some other students were whispering in class about it."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAsGoDVnjP9P
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANA9KkBGCZOcN
"Is it true that you're an orphan?" exclaimed Roy.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAMrcqigyI1N
Goddess, help me
75Please respect copyright.PENANAZurUTP7geQ
75Please respect copyright.PENANAZwk7lLtEgl
75Please respect copyright.PENANASmi5bII8TD
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANATse4g7wXBD
Nope.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAn22mfEamp2
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAvQsyMO81Yw
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAYgyBSGTi7D
Blah and bleh roll around in my thoughts, deep in the mud pit.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAvHATx8v15C
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAxZe0RzA3XA
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANA4BevSy538i
"Godsdammit!" I said aloud. Sauntering down the hall, some passing students glowered at me.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAYukBUpcXxT
"Hey!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANA7BU4c3j18B
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAnUNxwqM95b
"Hey!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAaW7nrcf1eR
Who was being so loud?
75Please respect copyright.PENANA8Aq9EgjkyQ
"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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAInnz21Rnmi
"You are Pollux!" he stated, tightening his dimples wit a smile.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAZNGTVHAfpZ
"Am I?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAXbMD7L2Bkz
His face frowned in self-doubt. Gullible little meatball.
75Please respect copyright.PENANA5U2wdx58iC
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I am..."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAJnhop0VP9R
"I saw you chant that spell in Tome Study! Are you, like, some savant or something?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAvjEVSmXASR
"I don't know; that was my first time."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAeBtHUx5dmF
"So, you are a savant!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANALhysSyzOnG
"Listen!" I said sternly.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAhCTHjqOrEv
The little gentleman froze. When he froze, I walked ‘round and right past him, silently. Unfortunately, he decided to follow me.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAff6rzVsV1H
"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?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAHNYWJ9jkAB
"I'm going to Physical Education, er...”
75Please respect copyright.PENANAqDoHcv4YOi
"Roy!" he said cheerfully. "That's my next class, too!"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAMHeBrfewvC
You're kidding. "You're kidding..."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAA8JVaBq7sl
"I bet you're a real acrobat in the field."
75Please respect copyright.PENANACPuHQx6ItC
The fuck does that mean? "No, Ross, I'm not."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAR7Z7Syo0rT
"It's Roy."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAR9u2pDykI0
"Ron. As you can see," I gestured to my cast with the limp leg within, "I can do neither acros nor batics."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAhHOqmmGQOn
"Hehe, you talk talk funny. Is it true that you lost your memory?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANACjelxwR2dF
I stop. "And where did you hear that from, Roy?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANABbmstiidfe
"I just heard it through the berry vines."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAENeAt180tG
"Berry bines?"
75Please respect copyright.PENANAYruuYwPTNl
"Some other students were whispering in class about it."
75Please respect copyright.PENANAvlnCYCBOD9
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.
75Please respect copyright.PENANAKlcqxe2Piz
"Is it true that you're an orphan?" exclaimed Roy.
75Please respect copyright.PENANA4VXWwNKrZy
Goddess, help me
ns216.73.216.224da2