Towers of Seshin: Part 2
#4 of Towers of Seshin
Hey guys! Sorry about the delay on this one. I've been a little extra busy writing things for work, but hopefully I can keep giving you guys content on a semi-regular basis. So here's part 2 of Towers of Seshin, where we'll explore a little more of the Magic Grounds area.
*WARNING: * This story contains elements of homosexual interaction between characters, both romantic and sexual. If this is something that bothers you, please leave the page at this time.
Far above the Magic Grounds, deep within the heavens, two figures stood with the clouds; a male and a female. They both silently watched the scene below, their eyes focused on the earth blessed wolf leading the fire blessed fox towards the central tower.
Finally, the female spoke. "This one? This is your champion, Tyto?" She sighed heavily, crossing her arms over her armored body and glared at the male disapprovingly. "I hardly believe even someone as thick-headed as you cannot see the poor choice you have made."
Tyto looked back at his female companion, a slight smirk forming on his face. "Perhaps he is a little brash, but I promise you there is much potential within young Alexander."
"The prophecy he is destined to fill puts the entire world in danger if he fails. He is too young, and his magic abilities have not been developed."
"Come now, Saryn... Surely you must have some faith in the prince of your own kingdom?" He chuckled mockingly, turning his head back to watch the two young mortals again.
Saryn growled, pulling her glaive from her back and into her right hand. "Do not taunt me, Tyto. My concern is fully justified."
The red god glanced back, pulling the saber on his hip to his left hand. He pointed the tip towards her and spun it in small circles almost in a teasing manner. "Ooh, such a fiery one you are. And that is coming from the god of fire. Your concern is touching, but misplaced, my darling. Alexander's skills will grow all in due time." He put his weapon away and then extended both arms from his sides before bowing. "Now I must fly. I have business to attend to." His body transformed into a falcon and he took off, the cloud he stood on dissipating into nothing.
Saryn let out an annoyed groan while she put her own weapon away.
-
It felt like it took a half rotation to get to the central tower. The young fox, Alex, looked skyward once he reached the front steps. The stone tower seemed to penetrate the cloud line, exceeding far beyond normal vision range.
Trevor turned to see Alex and smirked. "You are surprised, I can tell. You didn't expect the tower to be so large."
Alex looked back at Trevor, slightly shaking his head.
"Believe me, I was very confused as well. The tower is marked with an illusion spell, making it appear smaller to those that are further away. Only when you are next to it will you see its true size." The wolf made a beckoning motion with his right paw. "Come, we must see the Archmage."
Alex nodded slowly, remaining silent as he followed the wolf into the intimidating building. The interior room was expansive, lit faintly by the gentle flickering of candles along the walls and chandeliers hanging from the tall ceiling. Three separate pathways were visible, one on the left and right as well as one directly in front of the two of them. Trevor walked briskly down the middle path and Alex followed. The next room was cylindrical, a massive spiral staircase twirling upwards along the walls into what appeared to be black nothingness.
Alex stood next to Trevor in the center of the room. "We have to climb all of these stairs?..."
Trevor chuckled. "Perhaps -you- would if you were alone." He then went into a squatted position and placed his paw on the floor before chanting something incoherent and quickly raised that same paw directly over his head, palm up and fingers fully extended. With a sudden quake, a small circle of the ground below them broke off and began to rise at a rapid rate.
Alex screamed in surprise, nearly stumbling as the ground shook. When the disc began to rise, he fell forward into something.
Trevor had his left arm wrapped around Alex's back and held him firmly against his side. He looked down at the red fox and smirked. "Careful."
Alex met eyes with Trevor for only a split second before turning away, bringing his left paw up to brush his head fur to the side. He scoffed quietly, trying to hide his embarrassed blush. "Could've gave me a warning..."
"I could've, but who doesn't like surprises?"
In a quarter rotation, they finally reached the top of the staircase. It opened up into a new room, another circular one. But this one looked to be more of an office. Numerous bookshelves and tables were scattered across the perimeter. Fancy embroidered curtains draped the windows. Storage chests full of unnamed materials and components sat in the corners. And finally one big desk with a big chair behind it stood far in front of the two young mages. Behind that desk looked to be another room, but Alex couldn't see from this angle.
A male dragon in white appeared from that room and sat down in the chair while the two furs approached, his head resting on top of his folded claws. He looked to be elderly from the bags under his yellow eyes. His blue scales were dull he spoke with a slow rumble. "Ah... Alexander Solzhen. I am pleased that you have chosen to come be a student here at the Magic Grounds. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Archmage Rivalton, Disciple of Aisly the White and the founder of this academy. I hope that you were not made uncomfortable by the size of the grounds, or by Mister Onison's method of travel?"
Trevor gave a small bow. "He does not seem to talk much, Archmage."
Alex rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, this is just a lot to take in. And I'll be honest, I didn't choose to come here. My father forced me to come after I... accidently started a fire in his courtyard."
The dragon smirked. "Ah, blessed by Tyto. Seems fitting from what your father has told me. Stubborn, arrogant, perhaps a little troublesome."
Alex crossed his arms. "Did he have anything good to say?"
"Now now, young mage. There is no need to talk him down. You will not need to worry about your father for some time. For now, we should focus on your studies. Students will be placed in their classes based on their year level. Each class will have three students of each element, two teachers, and four student assistants of three years or more, totaling in thirty in the class."
Alex did the math quickly in his head. "Don't you mean there should be forty two in the class?"
Trevor chuckled. "The Grounds do not have students of our four Gods of Eternity, being Aisly, Zygar, Riyou, and Doxy. The powers of controlling someone's mind or the very essence of time is too powerful for young wizards to grasp. As for light and darkness, light is too easily corrupted and needs to be protected, so they have their own school. And darkness has been banned from the beginning because Zygar did not give disciples his blessing, but instead a horrible curse."
Alex frowned. "A curse? You mean dark mages don't use their magic willingly?"
"Unfortunately," the dragon said. "But you do not need to worry about the darkness. The Magic Grounds is protected by a powerful barrier that negates all shadow magic, so everyone is perfectly safe. Now, I will leave you in the capable hands of Trevor. He will show you the dormitories, the classrooms, the practice fields, and anything else that he so wishes. Again, we are very happy to have you here, Alexander. I wish you the best." The dragon ended with a respectful bow, and Alex and Trevor both bowed back.
-
The two canines were now back outside. Alex crossed his arms and looked at the wolf with a raised brow. "The Archmage seems to think highly of you."
Trevor shrugged lightly. "I've been here for a long time. Make a good impression and do all the right things you could get recognition too."
Alex huffed and took a few steps down the stairs. "None of you get that I don't even want to be here!"
"Why's that?"
Alex turned towards him, throwing his own arms outwards. "Because I don't want to be forced to take these classes. I don't want to become master mage and have some kind of fancy title. I just wanted to live my life normally and somehow make my father understand that I don't want to be a king!" His angered thrashing caused him to lose balance, and his body started to fall backwards. Suddenly a wave of sand broke his fall, the granulated magic surface slowly carrying him down the rest of the stairs to the path below.
From above, Trevor could be seen with his right paw extended and a yellow-brown light danced across his palm. He slowly walked down the steps at the same rate of the sand wave carrying Alex, until finally he dropped his hand and the sand sank under the cobblestone. "You should really be more careful. I think you should just give this place a chance. Stay for a year, or even just a few months, and see what happens."
Alex stood up after the sand dropped him off. He dusted off his robe, his face red with both frustration and embarrassment. "Thanks for that..." He sighed. "I don't really have a choice. Might as well make the most of it."
Trevor smiled. "That's the spirit. Come on, I'll help you figure out where you'll be staying." He started walking down the open path to his right.
Between the main tower and the elemental fields, there were clusters of buildings and streets just like any normal village or kingdom. The buildings were wooden, some large and some small. Some were vendors, most likely with school supplies. Others were giant classroom buildings that could easily hold over 500 furs in their halls and rooms. There were a few carts scattered about the pathways, most of them selling food or small trinkets and jewelry. And of course, a mass plethora of furs walked back and forth along the streets, all wearing robes or some kind of simple cloth tunic and pants and carrying a weapon on their person. Everything from wolves to panthers to dragons to rats to bears to eagles could be found somewhere within the walls, and probably many many more.
Alex felt small as he walked even while next to Trevor. He estimated the village's size to be about the same as Desyria, so that didn't bother him. It was more the massive populace. "Hey Trevor? How many people actually live here?"
Trevor kept looking forward, weaving his way through the buildings and traffic. "Including first years like yourself? Probably close to 15,000."
Alex's eyes widened. "How's that even possible."
Trevor looked at him and smirked. He always seemed to do that. "You'll just have to wait and see."
After a few more minutes of walking, they went into the center of a clearing with eight doors that all seemed to hold themselves up without support and aligned in a circle. Alex looked around for a little while, a brow raised as he looked at each door individually.
"These are the dormitories. Walking through any of these doors will teleport you into a large building with multiple rooms. These rooms are where you'll be sleeping and studying and can house up to three. Every dorm comes with a kitchen, two bathrooms, a small family room, and of course three bedrooms. You may walk through any of these eight doors to take a peek inside each building, and from there you will make a choice and be automatically assigned a dorm and roommates."
Alex shrugged. "Seems simple enough. Any recommendations?"
Trevor chuckled. "The House of Energy is known for their wild parties, if that's what you're into. Or the House of Strength is where I live, if you wish to keep me close in case you ever need me."
Alex blushed a little. Was Trevor flirting with him? "I'll uh... keep that in mind." He thought for a little while, scanning the doors individually one more time. He walked towards one door and grabbed the handle firmly and pulled it open.
"Welcome to the House of Energy," said a female voice from nowhere.
Alex cringed a little upon opening the door, already seeing furs dancing to music from an unseen source and drinking something more than likely alcoholic. A parade of magical lights danced through the air constantly and trash was seen scattered all over the floor. The red fox slowly closed the door until it clicked and then turned to Trevor. "Honestly, at first I thought you were kidding. Let's just make this easy then. Which door is the House of Strength?"
Trevor motioned behind him; the door that was about three doors to the right. "That one, but are you sure? Normally the third to sixth year students pick Strength. You'd be setting the bar high for yourself."
Alex grinned. "If I'm gonna have to do this, I'm gonna go big." He jogged to the door, Trevor walking up behind him. "How do I choose this one?"
"Are you sure you don't want to look inside first? Or maybe see what other ones there are?"
Alex shook his head. "No, this one for sure."
Trevor shrugged. "Alright. Take your weapon out and tap the center of the door three times, then state you name."
Alex unsheathed the dagger at his hip, gently tapping the pointed tip against the wooden door three consecutive times and said, "Alex Solzhen."
After a brief pause, a familiar female voice chimed, "Alex Solzhen not found. Registering." Another delay.
"Registration complete. Welcome, Alex Solzhen, to the House of Strength and welcome to the Magic Grounds!"
Are you excited? I'm so excited. And I can't wait until you guys can see the artwork I've commissioned a friend to do for this piece. Also, what do you think of Trevor? Please leave your comments and feedback below. Thanks for reading :3