Ember From A Forgotten Flame

Chapter 1- The Myre

The carriage creaked as it bobbed down the street. The sound of the gravel under the wheels and clop of the horses' hooves had been the soundtrack of my five hour journey. I didn't have much to entertain me except for the vast grasslands that covered most of the Fire Province outside. The golden plains were broken only by the occasional farm and, when I got super lucky, a town. Though, I haven't seen anything even resembling civilization since I left the city of Blaze. My home which was now many miles away.

In an attempt to do anything besides stare at more grass, I unraveled the long braid my hair was in. The three strand braid it was in needed to be redone anyway. I started to rebraid it into a five strand braid knowing it would take me longer to complete. The braid was down by my waist when I glanced out the window and saw something near the edge of my vision. My hands froze as I leaned to get a better look. From the flat plains, buildings and trees rose above. My destination was finally in sight. The shining capital of Candera, Messalina.

A wide smile appeared on my face as I finished my braid. As I tied it off, I could barely stop my leg from bouncing with excitement. After fifteen agonizing minutes, we reached the city limits. The dirt road gave way to cobblestone and the plains were replaced with wooden buildings. They started off as short, small, and separated, but as we moved towards the center, the buildings became taller and tightly packed together. Most of the buildings were stone with wooden accents, and there were people everywhere. Due to it being the capital and its central location, Messalina was the largest city in Candera. People traveled from far and wide to live, work, and study. I was used to Blaze which was the second largest city, but this was on another level. I knew Messalina was quite a bit larger than home, but it didn't really hit me until I got to see it with my own eyes.

The carriage weaved through the streets to the center of town. We passed the Messalina Castle, home to the Royal family. The pale, stone structure towered over everything else. The castle was right in the middle of the city. One block down the street were a large set of golden gates. Above the open gate was an arch spelled out The Myre in gold metal plates. My smile was now plastered on my face. I had arrived at my new home. The Myre was the only school of magic in all of Candera. If one wanted to learn the art of magic, this is where they would come. I was one of 2,000 new students starting their training this year, and one of over 20,000 students that studied at the school.

I grabbed my bags from the back of the carriage and thanked my driver. With a tip of his hat, he set off into the Messalinian streets. I walked through the gates into a large plaza. The ground was paved in a light tan, smooth stone that my shoes clicked on. Opposite of the front gate and fence were several pale red stone buildings along with an arch made of carved yellow-colored stone. At the top of the arch, the words The Commons were carved. I headed across the courtyard to a cluster of buildings to look for the administrative building. It was pretty easy to find as each building had a red sign that labeled what each building was in bright white lettering. The administrative building happened to be the second building in the line.

I entered and was greeted by the line for check-in. It was shorter than I expected it to be, but I wasn't about to complain. I only had to wait around 25 minutes or so.

"Next," one of the ladies at the desk said, and I walked up. She was one of about ten people lined up to check in new students. "Welcome to The Myre. What is your name?" she asked in a very friendly tone. Almost too friendly.

"Seraphina Blazewind," I replied with a small smile. My hand reached up to my neck where my necklace laid. It was a red-orange stone carved in the shape of a Phoenix Robin. The smooth stone instantly calmed my nerves.

She nodded as she turned around to the filing cabinets behind her. She thumbed quickly through the folders before she pulled out one. She placed it on the desk and said, "Here is your schedule, dorm room number, and a map of the campus. Let me grab your key." She then went over to a large box of small envelopes that I assumed held the keys. After a couple seconds, she found mine.