Beyond Isolation

Chapter 3: A Sorcerer's First Steps

'The boy is a bloodstream user?' the teacher asked

'I'm certain, he was born under a blood moon,' Persephone answered.

'Many have been born under a blood moon, none showed signs of them possessing such power.' another teacher added.

The staff meeting continued in the main office. It was dark and dusty all around them. Sun's light shone through the large windows, slightly brightening Persephone's robes. A few other teachers were present in the office, including Evander Orian and Gallen Rezoneer.

'Isn't it weird that whenever there's a blood moon, two to three newborns get abducted?' Persephone asked.

'And replaced with normal infants?' Gallen added.

'Exactly!' replied Persephone as he snapped his fingers.

'Persephone, you've gone mad,' Said Evander, completely unconvinced, 'who, in this wicked world, would lurk around Posceales, and replace a baby?'

'Who knows... to preserve a hated race...' replied Persephone. 'Evander, what exactly happened when young Thoren was born?' He asked.

'Well...'

Evander could hardly remember what happened that time since it was over fifteen years ago. He was around eight years old by the time Thoren was born. Nevertheless, he recollected a few events. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, someone knocked on the door.

'Enter,' said Persephone, 'We'll continue this some other time,' he then whispered to Evander, making him feel slightly relieved.

The door opened, slightly brightening the room and revealing Aerith and a young woman shorter than him wearing the academy's imperial uniform. She had an emblem of sorcery with her name written just below the border. "Axia Corva," it said. The two entered the office, and the door automatically closed behind them, making the room dim again.

'What brings you two here?' The headmaster asked.

'It's about what's outside our haven,' replied Aerith in a serious tone. Right after he spoke, Axia handed a thin folder to Persephone. The headmaster grabbed the folder and opened it, revealing several paragraphs and pictures in dark colors.

'An opportunity... This will be interesting,' said Persephone to himself.

Thoren's search for his classroom continued for quite a while. He constantly ran around the academy while holding a small piece of paper saying "Class-024." The last building he checked had only classes 035 to 045. His inefficient method of searching began to frustrate him again. He eventually came across a wide screen near the open space, showcasing a map of the whole campus. With his hopes restored, he scanned the map and finally found his class.

"Building-2, Floor-2, Class-024."

He was glad that he found his class. The problem is that building 2 was in the far West from his position. Seeing the time, Thoren sprinted to the building with all his strength. He even took shortcuts every once in a while. Other wandering sorcerers saw him use the railings as a slide, climb across the walls, and more. Finally, he arrived at the entrance of building 2, where he could see very few students coming in and out of the glass door. Thoren wasted no time and dashed to the second floor, where he could see the sign, 'Class-024.' He opened the door and saw five to seven students seated around the classroom. He entered the room and closed the door gently.

As Thoren walked around to find an appropriate desk, he glanced at a few classmates who were minding their business. They all had different attires. One wore a white wrinkled shirt, while another wore a thin vest. What intrigued Thoren the most was one guy, who had a similar attire as him with the only difference being the signets on their sides. Thoren had a gold-colored bird, while he had a shield of the same color. It was the official signet of House Ironheart, a house famous for producing sorcerers specializing in defense. That gave them their title, "Humanity's Shield."