Chapter 2

Max ended up drifting off to sleep with this confusing menagerie of emotions still swirling through his mind. He awoke the next morning before dawn, as he usually did. For a moment, he thought he needed to get up if he was going to make it to the fields in time. Then, he remembered that breakfast wouldn't be served for a while yet. That feeling was strange, of knowing that, for the first time in a long time, he did not have to immediately get up to start working. It was nice, for a little bit at least, until the blatant laziness set off a painful ache in Max's heart for home. Dad would've already been gently teasing Max for not getting up. He could almost hear Ben groaning beside him, griping about how early it was. It was always too early in his opinion.

Max had only been laying in bed for a quarter hour at most, but he sat up, feeling too guilty about lying about in bed so long to still enjoy it. He slipped out from under the covers and stepped over to his dresser, pulling out the neatly folded clothes he'd stashed there earlier and putting them on. Without a destination in mind, he set out from the house. He walked around the castle a couple times, still unsure of what to do with himself, and too nervous about the day to sit still. There weren't a lot of people around the Academy grounds, but he was surprised by the number of people who were clearly servants he passed. When the sun had obviously begun to lighten the sky, he went inside the main castle building and walked into the dining hall, finding only a smattering of other students there. He took a seat where he'd sat last night, and waited for breakfast to be served. He was thankful it wasn't long before the first dishes of some kind of porridge and fresh fruit made their way out of the kitchen, more the kind of food Max was used to. By the time more people began filing in to the dining hall, Max had already long since eaten his fill.

Other un-uniformed students began taking seats around Max, but he noticed that they left a one-person wide gap between him and themselves, which was perfectly fine to Max. At least until Alva took a seat next to him, filling in one of the empty spots and earning a glance from the Kainer sitting next to them. Their outfit today was of the same sort as what they were wearing yesterday, though this one was of a creamy white.

"Good morning." Max said.

Alva merely groaned in response as they eyed their bowl of porridge distastefully. "It's too early in the morning for it to be a good morning, especially for such a poor breakfast."

Max watched Alva cherry pick a small, orange, round fruit that he'd never seen before, surprised by their remark. "Is it? I thought it was pretty good."

"Well, I don't see any of the typical accouterments that would make plain oats palatable. There's no gerrimans or dried fruit for flavoring. I don't even see any honey to simply sweeten it. What kind of breakfast is it without even such basic items?"

"I dunno."

"I suppose at least the fruit is fresh." They said, pulling off a slice of the now peeled fruit and popping it into their mouth. "The clementines are good at least."

Max had opted for the fruit he recognized, eating extravagantly by having both an apple and a pear for breakfast. "Is that what those are?" Max asked.

"Have you never had a clementine before?"

Max shook his head.

They pulled off a wedge of the one they were working on, holding it out to Max. "Try a bit of one. We have them all the time back at home."

Max took the offered slice. He expected it to be wet, but the 'skin' on the piece was surprisingly dry. He popped the whole thing in his mouth like Alva had done, and as soon as he bit into it his mouth filled with a sweet, tangy juice.

"Good, isn't it?"

Max nodded, swallowing. "Yeah. That is good."

"Might as well help yourself." Alva said, gesturing at the bowl of fruit.

Max shook his head. "I'm good, thank you." He felt mildly guilty for how much he'd eaten already, especially after how extravagantly he'd eaten last night.

"Have it your way." Alva reached for another and began peeling it.

Alva turned to the woman Kainer on the other side of them, who was turned away from them and conversing with the group of Kainer around them. "Have you had clementines before?" They asked her. When she seemed to have not heard them, they repeated again, somewhat louder. "Toodle-hoo, have you tried the clementines?"

Max saw some of the other Kainer people in the group glance at Alva with mild disdain as their conversation ground to a halt. The Kainer whom Alva was trying to talk to glanced over her shoulder. "No, I haven't."

"Here, try a piece. They're not as good as the ones from where I come from, but they're pretty good." Alva held out a slice of the clementine.

She eyed the piece. "I'm full."

"Oh come now, surely you've got room for a little slice of a clementine?" Alva said, waving the piece.

"No, really, I'm full." And with that she turned away from Alva, clearly signaling the end of their brief conversation. Max could tell Alva was put off by the curt dismissal, though Max wasn't sure what else they expected to have happen. They finished their second clementine in silence.

Alva had started on a third clementine by the time Blair stood on the raised platform, whistling loudly over the din and bringing it to silence. "Thank'ee. All my inductees, I want you to follow me. It's time to begin your first training session."

There was an excited murmur along every table, especially among the initiates. Blair stepped down from the platform and strode back towards the great hall, waiting at the large doors. Almost of one accord, everyone around Max stood up and filed to the exit, Alva dropping their half-eaten clementine in an empty bowl on the table as they stood to follow. As Max walked along the tables, he saw several of the magicians at the tables giving the group pitying stares, which did nothing to assuage any nerves he was experiencing. When everyone was gathered in a tight bundle between two tables, he strode out of the dining all, leading the group across the great hall to a smaller door on the opposite side, stopping just outside of it. "Okay y'all, this going to be the room your training sessions will take place in. This is where you'll come every day right after breakfast, no excuses! Everyone file in and find yourselves a mat!" He shouted over the din.

When Max stepped into the room, he found himself in a large, low ceiling room that seemed dim compared to the hallway outside. Arranged in neat rows was maybe 40 thick, straw mats. Along the walls were several guards, looking vaguely bored and making him vaguely nervous. People began to spread out, the mats near the door getting taken up first. Some sat down with no complaint, but most muttered under their breaths.

Max followed Alva and took a seat on a mat immediately next to them. The mats were quite cushy, so Max had no idea what everyone was muttering about. Blair went back to the front of the room, and waited for everyone to settle down.

It was a few moments before he spoke, some people fidgeting in place from the tense silence. "Welcome to your first foundation session at the Academy." His tone was somewhat more subdued than he was yesterday, talking like he had a great burden on his mind. "Anyone know what a magician's source of power is?" He looked around the room, but didn't wait long for an answer. "I'm not surprised, magicians don't talk much about it. We call it the Alius. It's a celestial being, one which has no presence on our world, yet magicians are able to tap into its power through their innate connection, once their minds have learned to take control their Alius. It used to be this process took years of study to train a mind to do it. Few would dedicate years of their life to learning the skill of magic, especially in the days when few knew what to do with magic once they had it. That all changed with the discovery Focal."

Out of a pocket on his uniform, he pulled out a vial of brown liquid. "There's a lot of things in the world that would call themselves Focal, but none work as well as the Academy's. It comes in a few flavors for different things, but what y'all are going to take is the strongest stuff the Academy makes. It'll all but knock you out for the next eight hours or so, and in the process, open your mind to your Alius. With Focal, everyone here should be able to unlock their powers in a month, so long as y'all attend every foundation session we offer. Today starts the first day of six days in a row, then y'all will get a day off. Repeat until a month has passed, or you make it. I am going to say this again: As grueling as your days are going to be for the next month, do not skip _any_sessions. You'll be expelled immediately, because anyone who skips even a single day will not make it in time. Every day you skip means you'll have to attend at least three more sessions. More often than not, it's closer to a week's worth of sessions, and a month is just enough time to make sure everyone has a chance to finish in time. Now, y'all could finish in a little over a couple weeks without the break, but too many folks broke from the strain, so we give you the one day off. It takes longer, but it helps y'all handle it."

Blair sighed, twiddling his thumbs. "I'm not gonna lie to y'all. The speed of training Focal gives comes at a steep cost. That connection with your Alius is a two way street, so while it helps you gain control of your Alius quicker...it also gives your Alius immense control over you while you're under Focal's influence, at least until you master your Alius. It will use that power to do anything it can to make you stop. To give up. I mean anything, y'all. It's your worst nightmares, except you can't wake up until the Focal runs its course. All of it tailor-made to you. All of it more real than any dream could hope to be." Blair paused again, as if to collect his thoughts. "I'm sure y'all have noticed the heavy guard presence in here. When I said people broke under the strain, I meant broke. They are here only to make sure that you don't hurt the other initiates, or yourself, even, should you be not quite yourself when you wake up."

"Y'all have a few things going for you though. It can't hurt you physically, even in under Focal's influence. Your Alius could flay the skin from your back and you wouldn't feel a thing. At least, not the pain of it. Further, nothing you experience is real, even though it will feel as real as I am. No matter what you see, no matter how real it appears, y'all'll have to hold on to that truth, that it's not real." Blair said, slamming his fist on the desk he stood behind, making Max jump. "That's the only way you'll stay sane, and I've seen too many students break in my time here. Most importantly, remember that it will end. Once your mind learns to control your Alius, it becomes utterly powerless against you. Our minds exercise total control, giving us the ability to bend it to our will instead of the other way around."

The class was silent. A few people muttered darkly to their neighbors. Max felt like he'd been handed a death sentence. People went loony from doing this?

"Now that I've done everything I can to prepare you for your first session, here's what you'll do. I will give y'all a vial of Focal. Drink it as soon as you receive it, and give the empty vial back to me. Be sure to drink all of it, or it's not gonna work right. Once you've drank it, I suggest you get as comfortable as you can. The Focal acts fast, so you won't have long. Once you're under the Alius's control, there's nothing to do but go through whatever it puts you through. I suggest you lay down, as you're liable to fall over anyways. Good luck, all of you. May all y'all's Alius' show you mercy."

Blair went to a cabinet against one wall and unlocked it with a small key from his pocket, pulling out a small crate filled with vials. He began walking down the rows of students, passing out murky brown vials to each initiate one by one and taking the empty vials, putting them back in the crate. Max watched everyone grimace and sputter after drinking their vials, so when he was handed one, he popped the cork out of his and gave it an experimental sniff. It smelled suspiciously like dirt, and clearly had a somewhat thick consistency. Blair was watching Max expectantly, so without any more delay Max tipped the vial into his mouth and instantly regretted it. The thick contents were incredibly bitter, and seemed to coat every inch of his mouth. He was only able to swallow with great effort, and even then, struggled to keep it down.

He put the stopper back into the vial and handed it back to Blair, who continued on down the line. "Is it really that bad?" Alva asked Max.

Max swallowed hard, nodding. "It's worse than the baby's bell tea my mom made us drink when we were sick."

"I can't say I've ever had the misfortune of having that. I'll know to keep a lookout for it." Alva looked around the room at everyone fidgeting on their mats. "So, I suppose now you're off to spend a morning in the depths of Hell." They said, grinning at Max.

Max shrugged, swallowing hard as he tried to not let his terror show. "I hope it's not that bad." He stretched out on the mat on his side, facing towards Alva.