Will stood in front of the Mage Academy gates. While the Knight Academy gates were carved out of iron, the Mage Academy gates were made from gold. Both academies' gates were had ornate designs, but the Mage Academy depicted accomplishments of famous mages. There was a scene of a mage destroying hundreds of beasts, there was a mage fighting an evil mage, there was a scene of a mage fighting a demon lord.

As I approached gate guard, he looked at me strangely and said, "no knight allowed mages only, leave now cadet! Why are there knight's always looking to sneaking in?" The knight sounded very grouchy. He's aura lead me to believe this was a battle mage, who was not in the mood to play to games.

"Sir guard, I am Grandmaster Thaddeus discipline. Please look at my chest you'll see my Mage Academy pin," I respectfully said bowing.

"Oh, crap, the headmaster did warn us of your arrival. Please forgive my insolence, it's just so common to see cadets arrive outside the gates on the weekend. Your acceptant is quite rare, sir…Hey, how should I address you? Mage Knight, Battle Mage, Cadet, Magic Knight, what is your honorific?" he said,

"Please just call me Will," I responded.

"Oh, you are as nice as your sister. Your sister is quite the humble mage, rumor is that she'll be recruited to serve in one of the temples. If she is lucky, she will get accepted into the Church of Light, and do great healing in Aether's name!" the guard said respectfully. I could tell the man was a devote believer, he wore a bronze chain necklace with a triangle pendant. The triangle pendant had a cross through it representing the alchemical symbol for air.

"How nice," is all I could say for two reasons. First, I never knew how to respond to religious people. Second, as long as she were as far away from me, I would be happy.

After the pleasantries, the guard allowed me entrance into the Mage Academy. Similar to the Knight Academy the architecture looked both eastern and western. There were several students wearing different color robes. Unlike cadets you keep the same white uniform but change pins. Mages in training change robes each year. First year mage students were white, second year yellow, third year red, and fourth year purple. Only mage instructors could wear black robes.

He followed his master's instructions and followed a windy path through campus. Will passed the administration, dorms, dining hall, courtyards to an arboretum. The Mage Academy looked like the Knight Academy except there were young mages practicing magic, dueling, and meditating everywhere Will looked. This sightseeing self-guided tour to his master's house, gave Will a moment to realize something was different. There was one major difference between the two campus. 'What was it?' Will thought. Finally, after a few minutes on the windy path, Will realized the air inside the Mage Academy felt different. 'Yes, that was it' Will thought. 'This feeling reminds of array we used to gather external mana to me. Wait! Does the Mage Academy have also had an array that gathers mana on camps?' Will would have to ask his master.

Will followed the instructions to an old ivy-covered two-story cottage. There were tall trees, shrubs, and violet flowers grew around the cottage. Honestly, if you were looking for the cottage, you would never have spotted it behind the foliage. I tapped on the door and heard a voice say, "Come in Will."

As he opened the door, he saw his master sitting at a small round table with Elder Li drinking tea out of blue and white porcelain cups. On the stove sat a ceramic tea kettle, in the small kitchenette. Both the kettle and cups had an oriental cat design.

"Greeting's master, Elder Li" Will bowed.

"Welcome Will, there will be no formalities here," Elder Thaddues explained.

"Please put your items upstairs and then join us for tea," he said.

Will noticed the first floor was small it was just large enough to have the kitchenette, bedroom, washroom, and living room. The living room was just a rocking chair surrounded by tall bookshelves that reached the ceiling. On the rocking chair sat an old Tabby cat.

He walked up the stairs to a second-floor loft. In the loft sat a single bed, washbowl; and a zafu and zabuton for meditation. Looking at the lack items in his 'room' he felt discouraged, to go from the barony to the dorm, and now here was a continuous downward spiral. He missed his life of luxury, from Earth, at the least barony had some amenities.

Dropped off his luggage, he walked to downstairs to have tea with the elders.

"Ah, how did you find your room?" his master asked.

"A little bare," Will answered honestly.

"Good, I'm glad you answered honestly. Please endeavor to always speak the truth around me, as your master I will keep your secrets and provide you guidance," he responded.

"Elder Li, please continue what you were saying about the beastmen tribal unrest," Elder Thaddeus said.

Elder Li looked at Will, questioning whether he should be privy to the conversation.

"He's fine Eleanor. It is better for him to learn about it now from you, then from someone else," he said.

"Fine, fine, I'll go on. Will, you may or may not have realized, I am a beast woman from the Cat tribe. I received a letter from my family saying that there is growing unrest in the tribal regions. The Tiger and Snake clans are set to war, and my tribes' elders are debating whether to support the Tiger Tribe. If we support the Tiger Tribe, it means war for our tribe," Elder Li said.

Will was surprised to hear that Elder Li was a beast woman, and a part of the Cat Tribe. He tried his best not to looked surprised. All the times, he'd looked up information about beastmen, she always looked at him curiously, and now he knew why. Will looked at her and responded,

"Elder Li, please know that I will respect your privacy and keep our conversations confidential," I said.

"Elenora, what brough about this unrest?" Elder Thaddeus said.

"For the second year there was drought, and several crops were destroyed. With a less food, there is fear more people will die of starvation. Both the boundary between the Tiger and Snake tribe is the river. However, with the drought, both tribes want to decide who has sole control over the river," Elder Li explained.

"I wonder Will, do you have any ideas?" my master's questions caught both Elder Li and me off guard.

"Master, I do no think it is my place to ask questions," I said, trying my best to remain humble

"Will, please you are my disciple now, I want you to feel free asking questions, how else will you grow?" he said.

"Elder Li, does the Tiger Tribe trade goods with other tribes?" I asked. Trade is the easiest way to exchange necessary goods.

"No, ever since the great war, most tribes keep to themselves and rarely trade with each for fear of being seen as weak and therefore an easy target to suppress," she said.

"Well in that case, why don't beastmen trade with humans?" Will asked incredulously.

"Because most humans looked down on beastmen and would profit more from enslaving beastmen than trading with them," she said sadly.

"What a misfortune Elder Li," Will frowned.

"Well Eleanor, I will continue to ponder this enigma," Elder Thaddeus responded.

We continued to discuss a host of different topics about the academy and kingdom. Elder Li stayed for several hours before excusing herself and leaving.

"Let's discuss your requirements as a disciple, I have a bit of good news to tell you as well. First, you are absolved from attending your physical training class with me. Instead, you and I will meditate, train, and spar," he said.

I was not sure to be happy or sad receiving this news.

"As my disciple, I will teach you to meditate to expand your mana pool, help you train your spells. I will also teach you an advance sword technique. Your physical training will continue because physical fitness is important for sword fighting and spell casting. Think of your body as a lidded vase, constantly filling with water. If the vase is not strong, the water will crack the vase. If your physical training will determine your spell casting speed and the amount of mana, in your mana pool" he said.

"Please meet me downstairs tomorrow to begin your training." Then he handed me a package of Aether infused pills and herbs. "Here take this as well, it will help you to cultivate your mana pool. Please excuse me but I must leave briefly, I have a meeting with Marshall Rolf to discuss your Guardian matters," he finished and walked away.