Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

11. The Abyssal Sorcerer

Custas had indeed been correct. Their homeroom was on this floor, however, it was on the opposite wing of the castle. Hound led the three of them across the quiet hallways. As she passed a few doors, Elaine made out the voices of professors who had clearly already begun teaching. Just how late were they?

According to Hound, they still had a few minutes, and he kept them moving at a hasty pace. When Fearne mentioned that all of them were in Homeroom Class No. 7, it elicited a strong hurricane of laughter from the man. He didn't elaborate on why, just told them to "brace themselves". But that only raised further questions.

"So, Mr. Hound, was it?" said Custas, walking alongside the large sorcerer, as well as a couple paces ahead of both Elaine and Fearne. "You seem to know a lot about the school, yeah? The three of us are newbies, getting ready to start a rigorous training of becoming Professional Sorcerers. I was wondering, got any pointers for us?"

Hound side-glanced him with an elevated brow. "Pointers?"

"You know, tips, tricks, advice. Stuff that'll help lighten our load."

"I'm the groundskeeper kid. Not really too versed in the specifics of your lessons," Hound shrugged. "I suggest talking to the professors. They're sure to know way more than I do."

"Come on, man. You said you've worked here for a long time. Surely you've gotta know something."

Hound scratched his beard, which shifted around a sour frown. "All I'll tell you is this," he grumbled. "You Blues are sure to have an easy semester if you stay out of trouble. From my experience, the biggest troublemakers are those who don't know when to stop talking. Get the picture, kid?"

Custas paid Hound's grim advice with a nervous chuckle, only to sedate his pace and retreat a step behind Fearne. Yeah, Hound was a nice guy. But Elaine didn't want to be the one that made him angry or, in Custas' case, worked on his nerves.

"Err, Mr. Hound," said Fearne. "You called us Blues. Are you perhaps referring to our capes?"

Elaine glanced at the blue-colored mantle over her left shoulder. She'd been wondering about that as well.

"You lot are blue capes; I just call them Blues," Hound answered, turning down a corridor on his right. "Each cape represents a school year. The blue capes are for the first-years, red for the second-years, then there's green for the third-year, and yellow for the fourth. Finally, there's the black cape for fifth-year students. Your professors will go far more into depth than I ever could but that's basically the gist of it. At the start of every semester, you will be given a different cape to signify that you've advanced to a new level. Comes in handy for when you're tryna figure out who's who."

Hound stopped by the second to last door before the end of the hallway on his right. Unlike the other rooms they'd passed, Elaine couldn't hear any voices behind it. Not a peep. Were they in the middle of taking attendance? Was there even anyone inside?

Hound coughed into his gloved hand and said, "This is the spot. I'd do well to memorize it as you'll be expected to report here every morning."

Fearne bowed to him, hands clasped in front of her. "We appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to help us."

"Think nothing of it, lass," Hound chuckled. "If anything, it's Glyph's responsibility to look after you students. The fact that you didn't know where to go is a blunder on our part. So relax, and tackle your first day with the ferocious resolve of a dragon."

Hound moved out of the way and motioned a nod at the door. Gulping, Elaine stepped forward, grabbed the brass-colored knob, pulling the door open with a creak. Heads turned, eyes peered. She counted twenty of them, all attired in the same uniform she herself was wearing.