Ranvir and the others tried to figure out the ‘trick’ with the uniforms for a couple minutes, before leaving to explore the rest of the dorm. Esmund was vocally excited about exploring the building. Ranvir suspected that Sansir was too, not that Ranvir wasn’t himself.

Together, they left the lounge and started exploring the second floor. Ranvir boggled as they walked down yet another hallway. Most of the doors were locked at the moment, or led into more lounges. He was starting to suspect Pashar had misspoken. There was no way this building couldn’t fit the entirety of the student population, including all the teachers.

“Maybe the cleaning staff live here too.” Sansir said, closing the door of yet another lounge.

“But Pashar said the first years live here.” Esmund replied, tilting his head.

“She didn’t say only the first-year students lived here.” Sansir pointed out. Ranvir nodded in agreement.

Esmund shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.” He looked down the hallway they’d come from. “Let’s go see if we can’t find some older students.”

“Older… students?” Ranvir asked, following behind his fast-walking friend.

“So they can show us their power.”

By the time they found the stairs down to the ground floor, Ranvir was officially worried. It should be said, they didn’t find the stairs, but a set of stairs down to the ground floor. They ended up having to maneuver through some much smaller hallways, if still very well kept. Esmund opened multiple doors to storage rooms and cleaning closets.

That probably meant Sansir had been right, the cleaning staff probably also lived in the building.

“Hi, can you show us the way out, please.” Ranvir looked up, as he heard Esmund speak.

The smaller man was talking to an old woman in her late thirties. She wasn’t exactly wearing a uniform like he’d seen on the guardsman, or Pashar, but it was reminiscent, if much less formal.

“Sure.” She led them down the hall, until they came to an intersection. “Keep going all the way down to the end of the hall. That will take you to the stairs leading to the kitchen. From there you can enter the cafeteria, which is next to the entrance. Good luck!”

Esmund smiled and nearly ran off, without saying anything. Ranvir nodded in farewell as he walked by and Sansir murmured a thanks.

They soon strode out onto the steps leading to and from the building. Ranvir felt a breeze of white yellow relief move through him, as he took in a deep breath. He was honestly surprised by how fresh the air felt.

“Uh!” Esmund exclaimed, running off.

Sansir groaned, as he turned to look where Esmund had run off to. Ranvir followed suit, a bloom alarming orange grew in him, seeing where Es was going. Or more precisely who Esmund was running up on.

He was a stout man. Not quite as short as Esmund, but with his wide frame it was hard to tell at first glance. He had the same close cropped hair as the guards, in fact everything from the uniform he was dressed in, to his posture, said that he could’ve been one of their colleagues.

And Esmund was headed directly for him. Ranvir wondered if he should follow, or just duck back into the dorm, rather than being caught with his reckless friend. But Sansir was already on the way over, if at a more leisurely pace. He wouldn’t have actually tried to hide, the fantasy was just tempting.

Esmund had somehow struck up a conversation with the guard, maybe he was off-duty. “-Thorin, I’m a fifth year student at the academy.”

“Fifth year… but you look like the guards at the gate.” Sansir said, though it didn’t sound like a question.

“Yeah, they’re fifth years.” Thorin, presumably, said. Ranvir nodded to him, not wanting to interrupt. Thorin nodded in return, before continuing. “They’re just trying to make a witness, or five, you know how it is.”

Ranvir didn’t know how much money an academy student made, but could easily imagine wanting a bit extra. That reminded him, that he needed to check up on that, and see if he couldn’t get something set up like a routine transfer to his parents.

“So when does your classes start? And can we watch?” Esmund asked, he almost seemed to shimmer with energy.

“We’ve already begun easing back into it. There’s a lot of students who stay at the academy year-round, since we live too far away to make it back and forth in time.” Thorin sounded a little bitter. “So classes never really stop, so long as there are enough students to run them, but they’re already beginning to pick up again.”

Thorin paused looking at all three of them. “I have a class that begins after lunch. You could come watch, unless you’ve got anything better to do?”

He got back varying responses of: ‘No.’

Thorin’s mouth split in a wide grin. “That’s what I thought. On 14th bell, come out to the fields. You should see us gathering.”

The bell at the top of the tower rang then. It was an experience unlike anything Ranvir ever had before. Not the bell, the mayor had a one, which she would ring on certain holidays, or fire drills. It could be heard quite clearly from a good distance away, however, it was wholly different from the monstrosity at the top of the tower.

Ranvir felt ominous yellow anxiety, as he looked towards the huge tower. “That’s so loud.” He said, barely able to hear his own voice.

“They must be able to hear that all the way in the capital!” Sansir yelled, next to him. He too looked startled.

“You can!” Thorin replied, after the bell stopped. “I gotta go. It was nice meeting you guys.” He nodded at him, before jogging off towards one of the other buildings. They were too tightly clustered for Ranvir to tell which specifically.

“That sure is something.” Esmund said. Ranvir looked over to find him staring at the tower.

They continued exploring the buildings surrounding the tower. They quickly found the other four dormitories. Ranvir and Sansir didn’t want to go inside, to look for older students and they were easily able to hold Esmund back.

After that ordeal they explored the other nearby buildings, Ranvir was relieved to find the administration building. It was both clearly labeled and easily accessible from the road, which made it easy to find.

“I wonder where they’re going…” Esmund spoke up. Ranvir had been debating entering the building when his friend spoke, so he didn’t immediately spot who he was talking about. He would’ve liked to. Pashar probably wouldn’t mind if he took a look at the library beforehand. However, Esmund’s words derailed that plan.

A group of people were walking through the buildings at a measured pace, all of them wearing the black uniforms Ranvir had seen in his chest.

“Let’s go find out.” Sansir replied, having already begun following them. Ranvir nodded reluctantly, jogging to get up next to him, before slowing down. Seconds later Esmund raced by.

The group of students were headed towards a smaller field. There was maybe thirty students in total in the group, not counting the old man with the graying hair. He too had a well trimmed mustache, like the soldier Ranvir had seen before. In fact, the more he saw of the uniforms, beards and hairstyles, the more Taggir seemed to stick out.

Putting that aside, he watched as the group lined up on a field with some dummies. He didn’t see what happened, but suddenly smoke began to rise next to some of the students, while others were in the clear.

“Did you-” He turned to Sansir who simply nodded. They both picked up the pace.

The students—Ranvir was surprised to find they were of an age with himself—had pulled the dummies closer, while others remained at a distance.

“You may begin.” The older man, presumably a teacher, said.

He was wearing a very simple uniform, only slightly more complicated than their own. Not even close to as complex as the fifth years. It had a minimal white trim, though it was somehow elegantly wrought. There was no symbol on his lapel, instead, he had a set of wings embroidered on his back, smoke falling from them, in a way that almost seemed alive.

When Ranvir stared at him, he felt suddenly felt like a kid again, staring up at his father’s huge form. The feeling quickly passed, something else had caught his attention. The smoke that was rising seemingly from the ground, was joined by new jets of black fog.

Ranvir noted the smoke rising from the ground seemed to have a green tint, while the new smoke was black. Blacker even than wood fires.

Then he noticed where the new smoke was coming from. A few of the students standing at a distance had started shooting thick blooms of black smoke towards their dummies, while others had created fields of smoke around themselves.

Ranvir stared dumbfoundedly at the display, even as the smoke rising from the ground curved towards the students that stood next to them. Bright, unblemished white awe filled him, as he witnessed tethered wielding their Goddess given powers for the first time.

“Wooow.” Esmund said, letting out a long breath. “Do you think I could do that? I kind of want to do that.”

Neither Ranvir nor Sansir found it in them to reply, they too simply watched as the students trained. Ranvir noticed a few of them would occasionally stop and sit down for a few minutes, before pressing a hand against their chest and getting back up continuing the exercise.

It happened more and more often, as the training continued on, until all of the students had taken such a break.

Ranvir reached up and touched his own chest, feeling the three rings underneath his shirt. He knew even his mom and dad would’ve been struck mute by the display. There was nothing that could compare back in the village, not the mayor and her measly ability.

Maybe once the City Lord arrived, she could match or even overcome these student’s displays, but right now they only had a few untrained minor talents.

They stayed for the rest of the morning watching the students work. The teacher running them through their paces. It wasn’t until the bell rang again, that the spell that had enraptured the three boys finally broke, along with the rumbling of their stomachs.

“At least we know where we can find food.” Esmund said enthusiastically, turning around. The students too had stopped their training, when the bell rang and were slowly making their way back to the buildings at the center.

“Ranvir, you should hurry.” Sansir said. “Both your appointment with Pashar and Thorin’s class isn’t long after lunch. You might just make it to both, if you eat quickly.”

Bright red alarm burst into existence all throughout Ranvir’s body. “Thanks for reminding me.” He muttered taking off in a run, to the muted laughter of Esmund and Sansir. If he ate fast, maybe he could start the library thing early.