Liam Bizalom wiped his watery eyes as he separated from his family for the first time in his life. A turbid storm ripped through his small village, rending boards and whipping about all those things left loose on the ground. This was no natural disaster, though. Liam had been playing with his magic by the river when a kind eyed old woman saw him. Liam was nearly frightened to death, his lord hated it when peasants practiced magic. If this got out... If his mother heard... Liam couldn't shake these dark thoughts from his head, however, all his worry was for naught. The old woman seemed impressed with him rather than angry. She told him that she was a wizard, and she could teach him a great many things, but Liam refused. What else could he do? He had to take care of his mother and sister. After his father died as a conscript, money was tight, so he worked hard every day. Whether he hunted, or farmed, he always did he best to make sure his family was fed.

This brings us to today, however, The old woman hovered in the air like a vengeful spirit to claim vengeance. Within her hands, she held the wind. Liam's mother and sister screamed and scratched the best they could to hold Liam down, but the wind swept him away. The old woman looked down in disdain and said,

"You rejected My offer for them? Pathetic. No sense of purpose or value."[Old Witch] Her voice boomed throughout the village and was easily heard even within the whipping winds. The old woman threw out a chest of gold and slammed it into Liam's feeble house, crushing it. Liam's eyes widened in disbelief and in hope. If he had to be stolen away for his family to live a better life.

So be it... The old woman's voice boomed again,

"Spend this wisely, I can't have a member of the Rotham academy have such a..."[Old Witch] she paused and crinkled her nose, "low value background."[Old Witch] With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared, taking Liam with her. Liam's mother and sister were left distraught. One day Liam was picking fruits with a smile, the next he was gone. However, his sister's eyes lit up. Within her pupils held a small hope, a small shred of information. Where was Rotham?

Liam appeared alongside this old woman inside a wooden office. The old woman sat behind a desk. A silver nameplate sat upon next the several stacks of unorganized papers, it read,

"Professor Harkley"[Liam] Liam didn't pay attention to this, though, the most magic he had seen in his life was when he was playing around. The wind, the transportation, Just processing it all was difficult for him. Luckily enough, Professor Harkley did not make it difficult for him and let him catch his breath. Liam had thousands of questions, but before he could even as a one, Harkley held out her hand to stop him. Her old voice echoed through the office as she said,

"You get three questions, then you listen."[Harkley] Liam firmly shut his opened mouth, he nodded sheepily and began to think.

"Where are we?" [Liam]the old woman smiled caused the wrinkles across her face to deepen,

"Rotham Academy, more specifically,"[Harkley] she gave out a low chuckle, "a medium. Great youths from across the continent come here to learn from the best magicians. Consider yourself lucky young man, you can make a future for yourself."[Harkley]

"Why did you take me here?"[Liam] The old woman began to show a proud smile,

"Because you have talent. If you're worthy enough, well you'll see."[Harkley] Liam creased his eyebrows and asked,

"What do I need to do know?"[Liam] The old woman gave a mischievous smile and said,

"No questions about your family?"[Harkley] Liam shook his head and said,

"I believe you would take care of them, otherwise there would be no point to throwing out a chest of gold."[Liam] The old raised her eyebrows and laughed,

"Very good, keep thinking like that, and you might get yourself a teacher." [Harkley]Liam nodded strongly and said,

"Yes ma'am."[Liam]

"As for what you need to do now, well let's make that a test."[Harkley] She handed him a ticked with a room number written on it.

"Find your roommate and ask him about what you need. This will help you make some friends." [Harkley]The old woman snapped her fingers and Liam was gone. She sat in her room for a couple of moments and let out a long sigh.

"With that kid here, maybe the peasant faction will have a shot..." [Harkley]She threw her eyes towards the rooming roster, next to Liam's name was Neidr Hyll. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair,

"I hope I haven't killed a talent this way."[Harkley]

Liam, on the other hand, appeared in a narrow, empty, hallway. Doors lined either side as far as his eyes could see. What little wall there was guarded by suits of armor, which all looked exactly the same. Multicolored wisps of light floated in the hallway, illuminating it. Liam looked down at the room number in his hand and felt some hope in his heart. Instead of hiding his magic, he could learn. He could live without hiding. Maybe all the suffering he had gone through throughout his life was for this moment. Liam started to make his way down the winding corridors with a pep in his step. The only worry in the back of his mind was whether or not his family was doing ok.

A scream soon turned his happy mood sour, Liam had always believed himself to be a good kid. How could he not rush to help? The continuous calls of help from a young girl caused Liam to rush forward with continuously renewed vigor. Dashing through the hallways, he eventually came across a soon he wouldn't soon forget.

A young girl with a short blond hair and hazel eyes was kicking and stomping on the body of a girl with long curly red hair. This short-circuited Liam's chivalrous mind. If a woman was attacking a woman... was he supposed to help? Then LIam shook his head and though to himself, if it was his sister, he would surely step up. He rushed over to break up the fight, but became increasingly shocked as he approached. The red head had expensive clothing, although it was difficult to tell with how dirty they had become she seemed to have a much higher income than the red head.

Didn't the rich lords usually bully the poor? Not the other way around? Liam shook his head, it was no time to think about that. He rushed in between the girls and separated them with his strong barrier magic. He stared at the blond girl with stern eyes and said,

"How can you beat someone when they are down? You may have had issues, but this poor girl screamed out for help, and you still beat her?"[Liam] The blond haired girl spit on the ground and said,

"What the hell do you know? Whatcha buttin' in fer?" [Blond Girl]

"Because it was the right thing to do. I can't let you beat on the defenseless, is this how Rotham works?"[Liam]

"It is."[Edgy wall leaner]A soft, but cold voice sounded behind Liam causing a chill to rush up his spine. Turning around instantly, he saw a young man leaning against a wall. He had dead blue eyes and short black hair. The young man called out to the blond haired girl,

“Arrieta, let’s go.”[Edgy wall leaner] Arrieta, nodded and skipped over to join him, the pair walked down the hall disappearing from sight.Liam struggled with the decision to find justice or to help the girl. In the end, he flipped the girl onto her back, moved the hair from her face and asked,

“Are you ok?”[Liam]