“What is it to be? A collection of desires, wants, emotions—a will. One wills and thus one acts. Action is the manifestation of will. One cannot be if one cannot will, one’s will is redundant if one will not act,” the lanky old man said.

The dull lecture was one of many reserved for the second-rate students in the outer academy. A talk about mana to those who could not wield it. A particular boy in the crowd seethed silently as his uninterested peers yawned. They were all fated to be dogs perpetually entrapped in servitude to their betters. The lack of interest from the room did not faze the professor in the slightest as he droned on.

“A person acts on his or her will through the limits of the person’s medium, the person’s body. Speaking, walking, fighting, even breathing. Acts are fundamental to being in every way but they are limited by your shell. Oh, inaction is also an act, mind, the decision to not do something is also an enactment of one’s will.

“What is mana? I ask this of everyone here, though as you all know mana is meant for higher beings. But you are to serve those beings, and thus you shall act according to their will, and serve to their will,” the professor said with a tone of arrogance in his voice.

The courses for the second-rates—chided as ‘the dogs’—always propagated this difference of class. Those able to form constructs from mana were supposed to be intrinsically superior within the Lightguard Academy.

The ‘dogs’, however, were not even fit enough for a more proper moniker for their service. The Lightguard Academy discriminated heavily based on someone’s capability to use their own brand of magic.

The lecture continued, “Mana is the choice medium for those above you. Every Luminary that you shall serve upon graduation has three media for the enactment of their will—mana, their own body, and you lot. It goes without saying that the aforementioned list is ordered by utility and superiority.

“A dog only has the goodwill of its master to thank for its purpose and continued existence. A dog can only do so much as bark and bite. But a being of mana can burn the rot out of dead bones, a being of mana can bring armies to collapse by his or her lone self. A being that controls the laws of this very world, a being that brings reality itself to its knees! You will understand. A dog, a dog that can only revel in the face of such superiority, should serve its masters without question as the extension of their will.”

The boy trembled in his seat hearing those words from the professor. It was the first time he’d seen this one, probably a recent demotion from teaching more talented prospects than his ilk. Most others stopped at calling them dogs or making a small joke here and there, but there were always a few who were pretty jaded about the whole thing.

His peers had long since given up on becoming a full member of the Lightguard, a Luminary as they called it, but he still dreamed of it despite what everyone deemed an obvious impossibility. No matter how much he hated it here, he still wanted to fight off the Threat. The young teen always reacted adversely when someone tried to step on his aspirations.

“As I have said, you lot are only fit to be the weakest expression of their will. How could you hope to make a difference in the end? A Luminary’s light shreds even the hardest of rocks. But you struggle to crush a pebble with your fists. What will you do if you come across the challenges that they face? To serve better, it is important to first learn the makings of the pyramid—”

The sound of cracking wood interrupted the lecture. Drops of blood dripped down the boy’s fist having crushed the wood of his desk. He suppressed a scream from the pain and scowled at the professor as all eyes turned towards the boy.

“Hmm… Such a washed out glare. A dullard like you should know your place, stupid mutt. The arrogance of it all,” the professor remarked before he realised something. “Ah. You’re the unruly one. Triss, I heard you called yourself? The burden of your discipline has already been anointed to me, wonderful. Just wonderful! And you realise I am to pay for that desk?” The disgruntled professor asked.

Agh! I just had to... Triss steeled himself to try to apologise before the old man bore the ‘burden of discipline’, these types were not light on violence. Probably the reason why he came to teach the lower rungs in the first place. And just like an envisioned prophecy, the boy saw tendrils of mana swirl around the man’s fingers.

Triss could almost feel the laws bend in front of the old man. The mana emanated from one of the rings on the man’s right hand and enwrapped the duster that he held with it. This will hurt.

As the man held the duster like a brick, another tendril of mana shot forth from another ring to form a near invisible link from the duster to the boy’s neck. It seemed that the man sought to make sure that Triss couldn’t get back up.

The boy tried to scramble and run away but the legs of the desk obstructed him. He arched forward in an attempt to push the desk away. The duster was launched from a swing of the old man’s arm as the thread of mana from the first ring propelled it forward and the one from the second controlled its trajectory.

As the boy was bent forward, the thrown brick grazed the side of his head having been unable to trace its original path to the neck. A cloud of chalk dust erupted with a loud thud just as Triss was immediately concussed and knocked unconscious. The white dust settled on his dark hair and a small stream of blood puddled below the side of his still head that rested on the wooden floor.

I still need more practice with two streams… I can’t count on others acting up now though. The old man sighed. The mana used was worth half an hour of charging. At least it couldn’t bark. That should be worth a silver or two.

The Lightguard Academy was a repurposed Elven stronghold, one of many relics that dotted the northern continent of Himmiord. This specific one alongside the northwestern coast. The castle was defended by three circular rungs of walls, each of which rose higher than the preceding wall as the rings approached the centre.

Moss had grown and some portions of it had fallen but the decrepit castle was one of the first successful conquests of the Lightguard against the Threat over two centuries ago. The middle rung of the city held the academy proper for prospective Luminaries while the outer rung held the doghouse and trained the Lightguard’s light infantry. It remained an essential forward base in the frontiers and continued to defend against minor attacks every few years.

A nearby dock that led to the western ocean connected the castle with the rest of the standing world. Only the Lightguard and other military organisations could hope to traverse these wastes on land.

A ship that was considered extremely bizarre was docked by the wharf. The half-brig had no masts nor sails and the entirety of the topmost deck was plated by a dark metal. This extended to much of the unsubmerged hull as well, giving the ship an eerie look by any standard. The upper paddles of wheels could be seen on either side of the stern. An ensemble that some would think even stranger than the ship itself alighted from it.

The supposed sailors exiting the ship each wore a dark brown cloak, except for three masked individuals spearheading the troupe. Two of them stood shoulder to shoulder as they made their way to the academy. A woman and a man, they sported a plain maroon colouring on their robes. The man covered his head with a hood while the woman’s messy brown hair fluttered with the breeze.

The other masked person stood in front of those two. He donned a dark blue outfit with beautiful and intricate silver curves in pattern. His chin-length silver hair complemented the outfit rather well.

All three of them wore similar brass masks while the man in the forefront also burdened himself with two brass pauldrons. Stranger still, a loosely fitted cymbal hung over the pauldron on his left shoulder.

The port was more or less unguarded on land apart from the Luminary patrols that passed by. A makeshift earthen barricade was the extent of the physical defences.

They had managed to push the fight quite far from the area in recent years and the enemy would rarely if ever reach the walls. The last one that did had arrived by its lonesome all the way from the heart of the Threat’s territory, and even then it was half-dead by the time of its appearance.

Only three frigates stood with furled sails by the pier but an entire fleet of warships could be seen guarding the coastline in the distance. The sailors aboard the other three ships looked curiously at the exotic new addition to the harbour but didn’t care to question their arrival as they had entered through the naval blockade.

The troupe led by the strange masked man exited the harbour and took notice of the path that led to the massive walls of the academy.

The route towards the academy was an upward trek of around twenty minutes over a barren road paved with gravel. The soil around was dark and had no life growing on it. Besides the landmark of the stronghold in front of them, there was not really much to look at during the short walk.

Around five minutes into the path, a trio of knights approached the group with weapons armed as they mirrored the formation of the opposing masked leaders.

They were fitted with shining white plated armour and their helmets bore a hole in the shape of a ‘T’. Long golden capes draped behind them and in their hands were gold-plated halberds. It was a stark contrast to their grim surroundings. The leader of the knights stepped in front of the silver-haired man and spoke.

“Halt. We received no missive for an inspection and you are ordered to turn back immediately. The Scholars are not due for a visit for another quarter year at the least.”

The masked man, one of the Scholars in question, grunted and pulled out a scroll from within his robes. Unfurled, the scroll was given to the knight leader’s free hand with a hint of annoyance. The man started to explain as the knight expressed her confusion upon reading the scroll.

“The Scholars are to investigate a Tanin ruin that we believe to be within the reach of the Threat. This is a requisition for intelligence and supplies, not an investigation. But we will see to it that one is carried out during our stay,” the Scholar said before adding, “you do recognise your own organisation’s seal, do you not, Luminary? Make way already.”

“There is no mention of supplies in the requisition, and I would think your kind is responsible for providing us with information,” the leader retorted with a shrill voice.

The Luminary had verified the mana signature inscribed onto the scroll and handed it back. To the best of her knowledge, the Scholars never left footprints without a hint of turmoil. Even though she had verified the authenticity of the document, she would rather have them go back. She didn’t spend a lot of time in her career guarding the academy but she hadn’t ever seen nor heard of this bunch appearing under such unusual circumstances.

The Scholar was visibly annoyed despite bearing the visage of a neutral mask. He responded with a peculiar weight to his voice, which sounded like a loud whisper.

“Stop testing my patience. Make way. Now.”

The words were laced with hints of mana that pressed down on everyone’s minds. Some of the unmasked men behind him suffered a headache for a few moments while everyone else felt like someone slapped their skulls for a brief second. The words sounded more like a compulsion than a voice to them.

“Ugh. Enough with the theatrics. We’ll let you in, but I will not promise more than that. No more than five of those brown-cloaks in the back, though.”

“Supports with us. Rest of you, stay back with the ship,” the Scholar responded without so much as looking behind and started walking forward. Five of those with brown cloaks followed the three Scholars and the rest trailed backwards.

The trio of knights led the group to the academy's outermost wall. They came upon a massive portcullis that gated the castle. The Luminary trio approached three steles by the gate’s side and all of them reached their right arms out to a stele each.

At first, nothing was apparent but slowly a golden hue enveloped the markings on each stele. The glows grew brighter along the grooves during the next few minutes after which a rumbling sounded with the opening of the portcullis. They finally took back their arms in chorus and their leader signalled for the Scholars to enter.

The streets of the Lightguard Academy were not like other High Human settlements in Himmiord. Mostly warehouses were lined near the entrance while a barracks was situated not too far away.

Few light infantry patrols made way for the group passing through. The route they chose had a few tanneries on the way with the hideous scent of animal hide filling the air. Golden banners with three horizontal white stripes could be seen hanging on most buildings.

It was only near the middle wall that the outer academy was located. A sprawling courtyard could be seen as the dogs—the Lightguard’s light infantry and supply crew—were practicing combat.

The students of this academy were a bit further inside as the children did not get many chances to use the outer yard. Upon reaching this yard, the Scholars headed inward, which surprised the Luminaries guiding them.

“Mister… Elder Veles, was it that the letter said? You are not going to find anything useful in the doghouse. I suggest we do not tarry here and make way straight for the inner sanctuary where most of our operational intelligence is held,” the leader of the trio said as she got a sideways look from the cymbal-bearing eccentric called Veles.

“This is a part of the inspection. The situation here seems quite disgusting, frankly. Scurry into your walls if you want, I don’t really care. We are going in. Tala, arrest any Luminary who impedes us further,” Veles responded and ordered the masked woman accompanying him.

The woman known as Tala just shook her head and sighed. She chuckled and nodded in turn. All three of the Luminaries present thought that she had the air of an immature child, even though she was well over two metres tall like all other High Humans in the vicinity.

Veles was the shortest amongst everyone present at just a little below that mark. Only adding to their impression of her childish visage, she added a remark to the Luminary’s performance. “Minus points for stopping the big man. Careful there!”

The nervous Luminary took a step back as her companions looked at her with confusion. They stayed outside of the courtyard as the Scholars went inside the doghouse. As soon as they were out of sight, the Luminary by the leader’s side spoke out.

“Might I ask, Lady Lucinda, why did we let these bureaucrats go after they had mouthed off like that? They’re not so different from our mutts,” the man said and the other Luminary nodded as if to echo his thoughts.

The leader called Lucinda responded with a muffled voice while trembling in her spot, “Keep it low, the guy in the fore had a sound-related Class. I would gut them myself but I don’t want to get relegated to teaching when I’m not even middle-aged. A greenhorn like you would just get sent to die with the dogs in the wastes.”

The other Luminary, now a bit nervous himself, asked the leader sheepishly, “That masked girl couldn’t have been worth salt, what can they even do? If we blind them, no one could tell,” he murmured as he realised he forgot to add, “ma’am.”

“Shut the fuck up, Luminary,” she said with her voice back to her usual volume and turned towards the other person present. “Lowan, report the inspection to the sanctuary. No delays.”

The Luminary called Lowan was startled by the sudden order, which made Lucinda repeat herself. “Get the fuck out of here already, Lowan,” she ordered while half-angry and half-scared.

Lowan started running towards the middle wall at the very next instant. His heavy armour didn’t seem to affect his speed in the slightest. The remaining Luminary asked Lucinda with a hint of fear, “Do you think they heard me, ma’am?”

“Randall, I’m not going to save your ass if that girl comes back to bite it. Just stay put.”

Randall could only sigh in response.

The courtyard was a training ground for the dogs. Featuring brown earth and a few patches of grass, it was not as lifeless as the city’s exterior. Children were slashing wooden dolls with blunt swords and thrusting at the same with wooden spears. A few were practicing archery. Some of the graduated infantry were supervising the students and participating in brawls against each other. None of them really noticed the Scholars walk past, and the ones who did couldn’t get themselves to care.

At the end of the courtyard, a five-storied building stood before the three Scholars and their retinue. It seemed like it wasn’t included in the renovations after the conquest seeing that chunks of the walls were still missing.

The only thing that looked even remotely new were the Lightguard’s draped banners that were juxtaposed against the dilapidated walls. The doors were wide open and some of the younger students inside looked out curiously at the troupe.

“Ha… You were right, Veles, this place really is disgusting,” Tala murmured.

Just as she said that, the Scholars’ gazes darted towards the second floor of the building. Just a moment later, a noise was heard from the same place their eyes pointed to.

“Magic assault in academic premises. Decent enough of a card to play against them. Shaw, take the brothers and deal with it,” Veles ordered the hooded Scholar behind him and added, “I’d rather not step inside there myself.”

“Okay, boss,” Shaw said in response.

The hooded man in question went inside the building followed by two of the men with brown cloaks behind him. The brothers couldn’t really tell what had happened but they were relaxed. They figured that the magic was too pitiful for them to notice, just like how everyone else seemed to be to them in the downtrodden doghouse.