XII | SEARCH FOR THE SILVER WOLF
Kael blew out a heavy breath. After the battle, the medics, who turned out to be students in training, had taken a look at the students' minor injuries. Kael still couldn't believe that he had passed. Now, as he waited in line for his student ID, he looked down at the small aid plasters on his small scratches. The ointments would ensure they would be healed by the end of the day, but he was never good at keeping plasters on his skin, always tempted to peel them off.
"Kael!" Wynt's voice sounded muffled from the distance, distracting Kael from picking at the bandaids. Wynt caught up with him, looking slightly drained.
"What's up, Wynt?" Kael greeted with a grin. "I can't believe we passed!"
Wynt returned Kael's smile. "Yeah, it took a bit of energy from me. It's all thanks to you, really. How'd you think of using another vessel like that? And it wasn't even a weapon. Just a bunch of wooden planks."
Kael shrugged, not knowing how to respond to the compliment. "I always practiced drawing sigils on leftover wood at my uncle's farm. I didn't know anything other than weapons could be a vessel until I scorched a piece with the sigil I drew."
"I've never seen people use anything other than weapons or vessels specifically designed for casting," Wynt said. "If you were back at my home, you would have been invited to sit with the elders for a feast. They always appreciate a good head."
Kael laughed and scratched his head, feeling a bit bashful even though he didn't really understand what Wynt meant by that. "No need to go that far. I was only applying what I knew here. It's nothing, really!"
"You don't need to be so modest. I'm just giving you credit for what you did. If it weren't for your quick thinking, all the students who passed would've probably failed."
Kael was about to reply with another denial when the administrator called out in a bored tone. "Kael Smaradine. Step up to receive your student ID."
Startled, Kael speechlessly obeyed.
"Stand on that platform there." The administrator pointed at a raised platform in front of the tent wall.
Kael stepped up and wondered why he had to stand on a pedestal. His question was answered when a bright flash of light left dots in his vision.
"That's good. Step down and wait for your card."
Blinking, Kael rubbed his hand and returned to the front of the desk. The administrator took a moment to process the picture and stick it on a handwritten registration card, handing it to Kael as Wynt stepped up for his own picture. Kael's startled face stared back at him, and he scowled.
They could've warned me.
He waited while Wynt got his card before they finally went to the market. Different guards were standing in front of the entrance, and the two passed through easily after showing off their new IDs.
"Wow," Wynt said, excitement clear in the tremble of his voice. "I wonder what they got here. Look at all those souvenirs!"
Kael's eyes widened as he scoured the market, burning every detail into his memory. Stalls filled with colour decorated either side of him, and streaks of bright banners hung above. The streets bustled with the loud cacophony that usually accompanied a marketplace, reminding Kael much of Trading Week back at home. He reflected that Hont would be getting ready to go soon, and he felt a twinge of regret that he wouldn't be accompanying his uncle for the first time.
Still, he grinned like a child at the somehow familiar sight. "This is awesome! Where should we go first?"
Wynt paused. "I don't know."
Look for the silver wolf, Kly's voice rang in Kael's memory as if telling him what to do next.
"You know, my brother told me to look for a silver wolf after I pass the exam. What do you think that means?"
Wynt frowned. "A silver wolf? Like jewelry?"
Kael shrugged. "I dunno. He never really specified. Look, I think they're selling pendants over there. Maybe we should ask."
Wynt nodded, and the boys approached a stall. A large man with an impressive potbelly greeted them. "Welcome, kids. Do you see anything you like?"
Kael examined the jewelry the man displayed. "Uh...do you have a silver wolf?"
"Silver? Oh, no! I don't sell silver in the student market. Too costly for the students. But if you don't mind, I have plenty of souvenirs painted silver!"
"A wolf?"
"Wolf, bear, dragon," he winked, "I've got everything."
"Hmm," Kael cocked his head. "I dunno. I'm not sure this was what Kly was talking about."
He felt a tap on his shoulder and glanced behind him. Rita stood with a big grin on her face. Wisps of red hair flitted across her freckled cheeks, messy as if she'd been too busy to fix it, but it didn't seem to bother her.
"Hiya, dukes! I see you both passed the exam."
"Rita!" Wynt said in jovial recognition. "What happened? Did the academy make you compensate for yesterday?"
Rita laughed. She fiddled with one of her pigtails. "I have to do community service. Picking up trash for the next two weeks." She pulled up a garbage bag as proof.
"That sucks," Kael said.
"At least you get to stay," Wynt added.
"Yeah..." Rita looked away and adjusted her flat cap. "Anyway, what were you two up to?"
Kael and Wynt exchanged a glance before Kael replied, "Uh, we're looking for a silver wolf. My brother told me to look for one once I pass the exam. Do you think you know where it is?"
Rita pursed her lips. "I think you mean the Silver Wolf."
"That's what I said. Do you know where it is?"
"No, silly," Rita laughed. "I'm talking about the dorm. The Silver Wolf Den is the name of an academy dorm. In fact, I signed up there just yesterday. It's named after one of the founding casters. Almost all the dorms are."
"A dorm, huh? Can you take us there?"
Rita nodded. "Well, actually, uh, I can take you to where they sign you up. All the dorms are off limits until the day is over. Come on."
Kael and Wynt followed the girl until they reached a section of the market lined with small tent stalls displaying banners in front of the reception tables. Every banner had some sort of insignia drawn on. As they continued on, Rita explained each dorm to them.
She pointed at a white tent with green stripes. Their banner was also white, rimmed with the same green. Their insignia was of a four-leafed clover embroidered beautifully in the middle.
"They're the Lucky Clovers," Rita said. "I'm not sure which mentors are in charge or who the proctor is. Actually, the only thing I know about all the other dorms are their names and colour. Obviously, the Lucky Clovers have green, and their dorm is called the Lucky Clovers Tavern."
The next tent over had a banner much the same, only with an orange rim and an insignia of a bird's talon coloured in orange. "Over there is the Flaming Talons. Their dorm is called the Flaming Talons Roost. Their colour: orange."
A banner with a deep red rabbit face with an angry expression drawn in with negative space came up next. Rita cracked a smile. "They're the Angry Bunnies. Aren't they adorable? Their dorm is the Angry Bunny Burrow, and their colour, red. Oh, and them over there." She pointed at the tent with a deep blue dragon. "The Blue Dragon. I actually almost signed up with those guys. They're all about being humble or whatever. Anyway, their colour is blue and they live at the Blue Dragon Inn."
They stopped at a tent with a howling wolf insignia painted in silver. "Here we are, boys. The Silver Wolf sign-up. Hey, wait." She paused, drawing closer to Kael and examining him like he was a specimen. "You know the proctor here actually looks a lot like —"
"Kael!" Kly ducked under the tent and waved at his brother.
Kael lit up. "Kly! What are you doing here?"
Rita's eyes widened, and she looked at Wynt, who merely shrugged.
"I knew you could do it, little buddy," Kly said, ruffling Kael's hair. "I'm the Silver Wolf's proctor. I'm glad you found me."
"You're a proctor?" Kael said just as Rita stammered, "Your brother is a proctor?"
Kly grinned. "Sorry I didn't tell you, little buddy. I'm glad you've made some friends, though." He looked at Wynt and Rita, and they both fidgeted. "You two can sign up to the dorm here. Come on. Let me show you."
Kael gestured for Wynt and Rita to follow before making his way to the desk that had the banner displayed. Kly produced a clipboard with gridded paper. He pointed at a blank spot under someone's name.
"Just sign your name here," he instructed. "Then put your student number right across. Yeah, that's it. Ah. Don't worry about your insignia. Just put your initials."
After doing as Kly told, Kael waited for Wynt to do the same.
"Welcome to the Silver Wolf, boys," Kly said with a wide grin. "And welcome to the Saphir Casters Academy. Congratulations."
Kael beamed. "Thanks, Kly! Does this mean we'll be living in the same place?"
"Of course! Like I said before, little buddy. You'll be seeing more of me around here."
"Hey, Kael," Wynt said. "It looks like you're catching up with your brother. Now that I've signed up for a dorm, I'm gonna go check out the rest of the market."
"And I need to get back to work." Rita held up her trash bag.
Kael nodded. "Sure. I'll see you guys later."
He watched Wynt and Rita going back the way they'd come from before turning his attention back to Kly.
"I'm glad you're settling in all right. I was worried you'd have a hard time adjusting."
"It's all good. So, you're the proctor? What do you do?"
Kly sat on the chair behind the desk, waiting for more students to sign up. "Well, I'm in charge of keeping order in the dorms. I make sure everyone follows the rules. Keeping guys out of girls' rooms, checking safety hazards, stuff like that. Of course, the other Silver Wolf mentors help out, but if anything is wrong, I have to report to the head office."
"That sounds like a lot of work." Kael took a seat on a chair next to Kly.
Kly waved his hand in denial. "Not really. Compared to finding and catching phantoms, maintaining the dorm is nothing."
Kael looked at Kly with admiration blooming in his chest. He continued to ask questions, wanting to gather as much information about Kly's life as possible. He was so immersed that he didn't notice someone standing in front of the desk until a shadow fell over him.
Kael trailed off in the middle of a question and looked up to see striking amber eyes staring back at him.
Kly stood. "Nox," he said. "I'm glad you finally decided to show up. You should be ashamed of yourself, leaving the stall empty in the split second I was gone."
Nox shrugged with a big grin plastered on his face. Kael hesitantly stood from his seat and picked at the edge of a bandaid on his arm. "Heya, kid," Nox greeted, shoving one hand into the pocket of his gray hoodie and bringing a bottle to his lips with the other. "I saw you fightin' those blighters. How'd ya think to use another vessel?"
Kael rubbed the back of his neck and smiled modestly. "It was nothing, really. I did that all the time in my uncle's farm..."
"Well, good on ya, kid. Though, I'd expect somethin' like that from Kly's brother." Nox leaned over and hung his arm around Kly's shoulder. "Hope you aren't as boring as he is, though. He's too down to earth for me. Aren't ya, Kly?"
"Nox, get off me," Kly muttered in annoyance. "You aren't getting out of work by chatting with my brother. Now get over here and sign up students."
Shrugging Nox off, Kly crossed his arms and glared at his colleague. Kael's eyes widened in surprise. He'd never known Kly to snap in annoyance. Then, his shoulders slumped when he realised he barely knew what Kly was like around his peers. How much of his own brother did he not know?
"No need to snap at me, Kly," Nox said, though he smiled to show that he wasn't offended. "You gonna go whip somethin' up while I stay here guardin' the stall?"
"Nox," Kly warned. "Shut your mouth." In a softer tone, he spoke to Kael. "Come on, little buddy. I'll show you around the market."
Kly waited for Kael to make his way around the table. Nox set down his drink before he plopped down on the chair and raised his feet to the table like it was second nature, leaning back on the furniture until it teetered on two legs.
Irked, Kly hit Nox's feet off, causing the chair to fall back.
"Ow," Nox grunted, sitting up and rubbing his head. "That's the second time today. What'd you do that for?"
"You're getting dirt on the paper. I better not find you sleeping when I get back. Now, do your job. I'll be back in a bit."
"A little dirt doesn't hurt," Nox stood with the chair and reclaimed his seat. "You should know, flower boy."
Kly tensed, looking almost ready to pounce.
"Shut up, Nox. Or you're going to regret it."
Nox yawned. "Didja say somethin'?"
"Let's go, Kael. Just ignore him."
As Kly stormed off, Kael gave Nox one more glance. The man winked with a grin, and Kael understood that he loved getting Kly riled up. Snorting a laugh, Kael nodded and hurried to catch up with his brother.
"Who was that?" Kael asked when he reached his brother's side.
Kly rolled his eyes. "He's one of the Silver Wolf mentors. If you get him as your class sponsor...well, you better stay out of his radar or he's gonna have fun picking on you."
"He's a mentor?"
"Yes. An immature lazy one, unfortunately."
Kael hummed in thought. They walked through the busy market. Forgetting the conversation, Kael took a look at the merchandise for sale. Weapons, jewelry, machinery, and clothing were displayed in the stalls, ensuring that everyone would be satisfied with something.
"Wow," Kael said, as he watched a man cooking snacks with flames shooting to the ceiling. Kly paid the man and handed Kael a hot pastry.
"How do you like it?" Kly asked. He took a bite out of his and steam rose from the exposed, meaty filling.
Kael chewed carefully, making sure to not burn his tongue like he had when he took a careless first bite. "It's good. What is it?"
"It's a bun pie, popular in Polag, an island country not far from here. It's actually become quite popular in Saphir Island as well. There isn't a single person here that hasn't tried one. Now that you've had it, consider yourself an official resident of Saphir Island."
Kael swallowed, savouring the taste of meat left in his mouth before taking another bite. "It's really good. Aunt Lana would love to learn how to make this. And Uncle Hont would probably buy the whole stall." He laughed as he thought of his foster parents. Then, his high spirits died, replaced by a small weight in his chest.
Noticing Kael's change in mood, Kly put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, little buddy. Don't worry about them. They'll be fine. Just focus on what you came here to do, all right?"
"Yeah." Kael sighed and took another bite. "Kly? When am I going to the dorm?"
"When the sun goes down. Now, come on. There are a bunch of games you can play in the carnival section of the market. Maybe a little fun will loosen you up."
As Kael followed his brother, he wondered if he'd made the right choice coming to the academy. And he couldn't shake the feeling that something really bad would happen in the future.
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A/N
Uh oh. I guess there's something bad that might happen in the future. ;)
To be honest, from here is when I started to have my doubts about the story, and depending on how I start to edit what I've already written, things might change drastically. So if you notice any inconsistencies while you read future chapters, please do call them out.
Aside from that, this seems to be a pretty slow chapter. Still, I hope it did enough worldbuilding for you guys. :D
Pacing is one of my weakest links, so I'm still struggling to find a way to make things okay. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And for those of you who were looking forward to Nox's annoying antics, well, Kly's another victim of his. XD
I'll see you in the next one!
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