Chapter 7-3: Shining Stars

Once Ren finished his story, silence covered the room. No one spoke, as there was nothing to say. Eventually, it was once again Ren who broke the silence.

"Thanks, for being here for me." He said with a faint smile. He glanced out the window. The sun had set hours ago. "We should probably head to sleep." He said quietly. "I think they will announce a new class or activity soon. We should be prepared."

"Any time, Ren." Mirielle said with a kind smile. "But yes, we should go to our rooms."

"Good night, Ren." Aiden softly said as they left his room.

Only when they closed the door behind them, and the silence of the night returned did Ren let his tears flow. He collapsed on the bed, pulled the blanket on his head, and let the sweet darkness of sleep embrace him.

He woke up when the first rays of sunlight touched his pale skin. Despite the barrier, he could still feel the warmth of the sun. His eyelids were shut tight with dried tears.

It took him a while to get out of bed. Part of him just wanted to sleep, for hours, days, weeks even. He just wanted to shut his mind down, to not have to think about anything anymore.

But of course, that wasn't an option. That'd never be an option. So, he forced himself to get up, get dressed and head to class.

Battlemage Warthorn's class was as usual, filled with combat and pain, though he seemed to go slightly easier on Ren this time as the young man didn't end up in the infirmary. While he was glad he didn't get wounded, he did catch Warthorn looking at him with a weird expression a few times.

Aiden and Mirielle didn't seem to notice this and Ren didn't say anything. He was truly grateful for their support but some things, he preferred to keep to himself.

As the hours passed and classes resumed as normal, it eventually was time for Instructor Eron's class.

"Now," The Instructor said as soon as he entered the classroom. "I will talk about Dragonkin." He glanced at the faces of his students. "Ren!" He called on him. "tell us about the Dragonkin."

Ren took a deep breath as he pushed his chair back and stood up.

"The Dragonkin are one of the first races to establish any form of contact with humans." He said hesitantly. He knew very little about Dragonkin compared to other races. Yu had never really talked about them very much. "They have been Arkon's partners in trade for as far back as our records go, though they only come by once in a few decades. They provide Arkon with maps of the outside, rare metals we can't mine ourselves and many other things."

He hesitated; he didn't know much else about them as people.

"They are about three meters tall, and have a humanoid shape." He continued, forcing himself to remember more. "Their wings are about five meters wide each on average, though those with larger wings were spotted before. They tend to have green or silver scales, though some rarer colours include golden, blue, white, and black. They have tails, usually five to ten meters long. They use them in combat, or during flight for balance. They have claws, but are as dexterous, if not more so, as humans."

"Good." Instructor Eron gestured him to sit back down. "They are incredibly powerful creatures. Weapons not infused with magic can't cut through their scales. Their can easily crush your skull with their hands. Their magical power is…" He hesitated. "Immense. The weaker ones are as powerful as Battlemages Warthorn and Silverwing." He stepped forward. "I doubt you'll ever meet one, but if you do, you absolutely must show them proper respect. Ren, come."

Ren held his sigh and stepped forward. He was sick of constantly being called on. He didn't like the attention.

"Now," Instructor Eron mumbled. "You're probably somewhat familiar with it. What do you do when greeting a battlemage?"

Ren placed his right hand on his heart and his left hand on the hilt of his tachi, then bowed.

"Perfect," Instructor Eron said. "Do the same, but don't touch your weapon and kneel, instead of bowing. Do not look at the Dragonkin and do not, ever, touch your weapon near them unless they explicitly allow you to."

After a moment of hesitation, Ren did as he was told.

"Sir." Ophelia Ashthorn's voice sounded. "Why should we show them more respect than we do to our own Battlemages?"

"Because they can wipe Arkon off the map with only a handful of them." Instructor Eron replied. "Never forget, we humans are not welcome in this world. We are barely hanging on to our survival."

Ren couldn't help but shiver. He knew of the Dragonkin's power, Yu had warned him about that, albeit briefly.

"Thank you, Ren. You can go back to your seat."

He quickly got up and took his place between Aiden and Princess Iris again.

The class went by as Instructor Eron talked about the history of Dragonkin. Ren listened intently, though he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. A few beings having the ability to wipe the entirety of Arkon off the map just… felt wrong.

The class ended after two long hours, though instructor Eron didn't tell them to go back to the dorms. Instead, they were sent to the Northern Courtyard. Somewhat confused and worried, the group did what they were told.

No one spoke, they still very much felt the weight of martial law. The air was heavy as the anxious students arrived at the Northern Courtyard.

To their surprise, Battlemage Auria was there. She stood, there with her back turned to them.

"Our respects to the seventh." They all said, saluting her. She turned around and pondered a moment before allowing them to straighten their backs. "Not bad, still somewhat sloppy, but better than before."

Silence followed her words as no one dared to speak.

"Well, since everyone is here," She said as the other Instructors also arrived. "I have an announcement to make."