The encounter (1)
A small backpack with a couple of spare shirts and a handful of coins – that's all I brought to this humble little place. Krito Vale, an ordinary commoner from a distant village, but I still held onto hope for success.
Passing by, a girl in luxurious attire, with servants carrying a dozen bags filled with various dresses, immediately made me feel the difference in status. This well-known place located in the east of Verania was where young people from the age of sixteen could acquire various useful skills. The Academy had been standing for so many years that few could recall the name of the Rector, an old man whose knowledge and power were respected at all royal courts, leaving no doubt about the wisdom of his decisions.
He ruled this place at his discretion. He alone established the laws within the Academy, and before them, everyone was equal, regardless of their origin. However, equality and fair treatment extended only to the teachers. Just by looking at the local fraternity, one could easily discern the more privileged. The Academy provided general knowledge in history, culture, and philosophy, but much greater importance was placed on practical skills, which is why the faculties were divided based on the students' aptitudes in applied fields.
Today was the first day of the academic year, and soon the opening ceremony would begin, during which new students would receive their mantles, the main distinctive symbols of the Academy.
I didn't want to join this motley group and decided to find a bench in the shade where I could observe the attendees from a distance. After all, I had hardly left my island, and my judgments about other countries were based solely on the words of traveling merchants.
Surprisingly, the students had even formed groups according to their native lands, apparently subconsciously taught not to trust strangers from childhood. Ever since the first summoner opened portals to the world of spirits and bestowed magic upon humans, the most powerful of mages have ruled over people. Blaming each other for the summoner's death, his three main generals divided the world into countries, which still can't forgive each other even after five thousand years. Dynasties changed over time, but now the descendants of the first kings ruled, and their mutual animosity was stronger than ever. So many centuries had passed, yet they still argued over who was more responsible for the summoner's death.
The largest group of students was from my homeland, so to speak, although they would hardly be able to locate my island on the map, but we shared the same king and history. Verania, the largest and most densely populated country, had the most mages. It wasn't surprising that only people endowed with this gift could ascend to high government positions. Considering that magic was inherited only within noble houses, the chance of a mage being born in some remote village among commoners was extremely slim and was usually associated with the fervent youth of a local lord. However, the problem was that only noble children were taught magic, and without a good instructor, many children ended up depleting their magic, and with it, their lives. The only place where they could freely learn magic was the Academy, but to get here, one needed permission from a feudal lord. I doubted that lords, who had already settled down and started families, were ready to explain how they ended up with fifty commoner mages in their lands. Yet such rare cases, like mine, had happened, and in the future, I, too, could hold an important position if I managed to prove myself.
In any case, the group of students from Verania was vastly diverse; those higher in status stood closer to the entrance. Most of them had already received their uniforms to show off in front of commoners. Verania was divided by mountains and marshy terrain into the eastern and western parts, which even erupted into a civil war a few years ago. These regions were distinguished by proximity to the portal to the world of elements in the east and to the portal to the world of angels in the west. Here, one could witness the entire variety of beautiful uniforms of magical faculties. White uniforms with golden trim for light mages, bright red for fire mages, tender blue for wind mages, yellow for lightning mages, brown for earth mages, deep blue for water mages, and light blue for mages without elemental affiliation. Thanks to the little brochure they gave me upon arrival, I would hardly have figured out this rainbow array without it. Although, if the rector was so keen on equality, why did he immediately segregate everyone like this...
But even among the mages, there was no such unity. Those who were wealthier gathered in the center, discussing their lineage, some showing off their precious jewels, magical amulets, and other belongings. And around them, in small groups of two or three people, stood those with less notable origins; most likely the children of minor officials, lacking their own land and special privileges, but still carrying traces of magic in their blood. Among them, most often, one could encounter the elementless mages who could hardly demonstrate anything more than a couple of magical arrows.
There was one such girl, a timid girl with chestnut hair, even afraid to approach anyone and standing alone apart from everyone else. Most likely, she belonged to a completely lost lineage, and without a pedigree, it would be hard to consider her a true noble.
Another separate group was formed by the earth mages, long considered third-rate mages incapable of properly competing with other classes, which made others avoid them. I couldn't understand what a guy of such impressive build was doing among the mages; he seemed capable of rivaling the students of the military course in physical strength. Apparently, he wanted to compensate for the weakness of earth magic with his physical abilities, though this idea seemed rather doubtful from the start.
A completely different case was the gray mass of people surrounding this gathering. Not that they didn't stand out at all, but most of these students were primarily warriors, and their gray uniforms seemed intentionally designed to complement the beauty of the mage uniforms. They held together more cohesively, not dividing by origin or status; descendants of ancient warrior families felt equal to simple villagers who had distinguished themselves in local competitions. This Academy was a good opportunity for them to exchange experience with more talented fighters and possibly join successful guilds to achieve certain heights.
Surprisingly, even among them, there were some notable individuals. Of course, I mean the girl with the rare, even for mages, delicate blue hair color. She stood apart from everyone, although she was close to the Verania group. With her eyes closed, she blended into the shadow of the building like a statue. I had heard about them, the guards of the White Goddess, as they were sometimes called in our lands, though I never quite understood whom they guarded. They were an ancient warrior clan located just a bit north of the Academy. Although I thought they rarely left their lands, one of them was right here, and there must have been weighty reasons for that. They could easily be distinguished from other warriors; once, they were renowned for their mastery of rare ice magic, and while their magic had waned, some distinctive features in their appearance remained. This clan was very closed, and cases of them accepting outsiders or expelling their own were very rare. So, it was characteristic of them to have hair of only black, white, or light blue color, and white and blue hair were only found among the members of the main family, showing their kinship with the clan's founders. They also always wore the colors of their family: white and red. And what always gave away the representatives of this clan was not their appearance but their weapons. All members of the clan were required to have a katana, a distinctive sword for them. I heard that even their merchants, who sometimes traveled outside the clan to trade with other cities, and fishermen occasionally met at sea by my sailor acquaintances, carried this sword with them. This girl was no exception. The black hilt of the sword and the red ribbons on the guard, along with some strange pattern on the sheath "??" – she kept herself apart from everyone else, but it didn't seem like others were eager to disturb her solitude. A couple of times, some students tried to talk to her, but she responded with short and dry answers, only briefly opening her eyes to assess her interlocutors.
On the right side of the entrance, there was a less numerous but more distinct group from Leran. The southern country of deserts and rare oases, ending with a long chain of volcanic islands to the south of the mainland. They stood out not so much by their numbers or colorful attire but by the concentration of gold on each student. Even the poorest warrior students wore one or two golden rings. No wonder this country is considered the richest of the three. Having little arable land, they developed other crafts. Silk, gold, and precious stones - with all this, the wealthiest merchants of Leran amassed fortunes comparable to Verania's treasury. With such wealth, it no longer mattered whether the nobles retained magic in their blood. I heard that one-third of the representatives in the Leran Council of Trading Houses were not mages at all, which by Verania's standards was sheer madness. However, their wealth was also due to a more rigid stratification of society. While ordinary people with certain talents can achieve much in this society, there are also those completely devoid of freedom. Leran is the only country that has maintained a system of slavery. Although in Verania, peasants are also very close to the position of slaves, nobles still lack personal freedom.
This gathering was not so vividly colorful since the overwhelming majority of students were fire mages. The red coloring with fiery patterns at the right angle turned this gathering into a small fire spreading along the building's wall. Out of curiosity, I would like to know how many of them should wear the black uniform with fiery patterns instead of red but fear to show up in it. In the territory of Leran lies the portal to the demon world, and it can be said with great confidence that more than half of these mages draw their power not from the Fire Elemental Lord Ifrit. But after the invasion of demons a millennium ago, this caste of mages was officially banned, and in some countries, they are even hunted.
The sound of gold jewelry from that corner noticeably irritated the neighbors from Verania, but what annoyed them much more was the inconspicuous group standing behind the Leran nobles. Investing huge sums of money and not sparing bribes in other states, Leran managed to push through the idea of creating a faculty of thieves and assassins, no matter how wild it may sound. It's not a secret that in many countries, there are dark guilds specializing in shady affairs, but only in Leran, they have become officially recognized. No wonder there is a saying there, "The number of daggers in your back after death will show what you managed to achieve in life," and that is already frightening. Black and gray, or black and purple mantles of thieves and assassins very effectively concealed their presence in the shadow of a large tree. Surprisingly, they held together quite harmoniously, regardless of their origin, and there were even quite rare representatives from other countries among them.