A Normal Day.

"Ethan Smith, Trevor Barnes, Lamair Griswold, Clara Verna, Emily Daniels! Come to my office right now!"

BOOM! CRASH!

A loud female voice sounded over the school's siren. It wasn't commanding or harsh but sweet and calm, but it sent shivers down the spine of all who heard it. The voice belonged to none other than Miss Carmen Steil, the famous principal of the Anbord Mage Academy. Rumors had passed on since she gained the seat as the principal. The Ferocious Cat Queen, the Queen of the jungle, Killer Cat; nicknames among others. Every single person in the school respected and feared her. Even the first years who had never seen the principal before. It was like an automatic, encoded mechanism... no one was exempted from the invisible aura and presence of the principal. 

When Ethan and Trevor heard their names over the siren, they abandoned their meals and run like hell was after them (which is somehow true...) to the office. 

The principal's office was on the outskirts of the academy which was as huge as a small village. The only assurance to the two mortals running was that the year one building was closer to the office but still, they had a very long way to go. 

After about 30 minutes of non-stop running, the duo reached the office area where a black pagoda like building was situated in the middle of a makeshift dandelion and sunflower forest. The scene was like out of a fantasy world, very breathtaking and beautiful. It could instill a sense of peace and calmness in even the angriest person but that wasn't what the duo were feeling. As a matter of fact, they were feeling despair, nervousness, name it. Almost every negative emotion in the damn world. Why?

They were just standing at the core of the vast domain of the principal. Who wouldn't feel afraid? Trevor was so pale and shaking and almost out of breath, even the long run didn't have such effect. Ethan was a little better, but he was just as pale which shaky eyes. As they were hesitating whether to climb the three stairs up into the building, they heard a calm voice from the building. It soothed their rioting emotions, bringing clarity to their minds for a second before they fell into another round of despair when they realized who the voice belonged.

"What are you standing there for? You have only 30 seconds to enter or else, you will be late." The voice said making the two pitiful boys run with all their shivering might up the fate deciding staircase into the hellish office.

...

Two boys appeared to be standing in a spacious room. Both were doubled over, catching their breaths with extremely pale faces. Even Vampires will pale in comparison to the appearance of the two boys. They were obviously Ethan and Trevor who had just migrated from limbo to hell. Ethan was a 17-year-old boy with short, messy dark red hair. He was very slim but not lean. He had bright green eyes and a cute face for someone his age. His skin was on the dark side, not black but in between pale and fair. Apart from his cuteness, he was a very handsome guy, but his background was the only barrier keeping him stagnant. He wore circular spectacles adding a touch to his above average handsomeness. Trevor was also slim but had a lot of body than Ethan. He was also 17 years of age but three months younger than Ethan. He had short white messy hair, deep red eyes and a fair skin. He appeared cleaner than Ethan in all aspects and was just as handsome as his best buddy. They shared almost everything in common with the exception of their backgrounds. 

Trevor, Trevor Barnes, belonged to the Barnes family. The Barnes family was one of the four main families in Anbord, just second to the Steils who were the overlords. Trevor wasn't just a family member, but the next in line to the leadership seat of the family but for some reason, mostly related to his "inability" to awaken after absorbing over a 50 Awakening stones, his position was taken. His father adopted a boy older than him for no good reason and made the guy the next in line to house the leadership seat. Trevor was still part of the main line but his authority has been reduced after the change in heirs. Still, no one dared to mess with him even if he was a "failure" or a "weakling".

Even so, he was better off than the poor Ethan. Ethan lived on a small street a bit closer to the academy with a family of three and his bedridden mother. His mother became bedridden a year after he was born. The family took them in because his mother had helped them, no not just them but the whole street. They were staying with the family of three but in actuality, the whole street of Cigomia catered for them. That was the proud background of Ethan Smith Junior. Where he got the Jnr from, only his mom knew but she could barely talk. All he knew from rumors was that his father abandoned them after his mom got pregnant. How wicked was that man? But that was reality and that was Ethan Smith summarized for you. Simple. 

In a world of mages, nothing came easy. Whether awakening or whatever, it was never easy. In this world, not only the vast Anbord but the Earth as a whole, there were two ways to awaken one's affinity. Either through the almighty Awakening Stones or the most dangerous way in history, Beast Awakening. Ethan and Trevor were both in year 1. The very start of their lives as mages. There were two groups of people in that year group; the awakened and the yet-to-awaken. Ethan and someway somehow Trevor were in the latter. Ethan could affirm his position as a yet-to-awaken but Trevor was a different matter. He had wasted over 50 expensive, high level Awakening Stones and yet didn't awaken which was weird in its own way. But who were you to mock him for his failure?

Awakening Stones were a mystery to the world. It contained a mysterious energy that helped awaken the dormant affinity and power in those who used it. There were situations where people used two to three Awakening Stones before gaining an affinity but that was really rare. But for someone to use over 50 Awakening Stones, that was just either rarer or pure failure.

Beast Awakening was very dangerous and wasn't advisable. The process was strangely easier as compared to using Awakening Stones but the aftereffects were disastrous. The Beast Awakener used either the core of the beast or special part of its dead body as a catalyst to awaken. If everything was successful, the person gained the beast's natural affinity plus some special skills of the beast. They will also skip the part where they will be required to get a spirit beast; Either kill a beast or capture one to build their affinity core. That was a requirement for normal Awakened, but Beast Awakeners were exempt from this. They are already bonded with the beast through their awakening and naturally gain the beast once everything was successful but if it fails, they become the beasts themselves. The consciousness of the beast takes over them and they start behaving like the beast in the initial stages. There were more horrors that follow but even this was enough for people to think twice before they take that path.

Why they were called, they didn't know but they weren't alone as they noticed a purple haired boy seated in one of the sofas, shaking and pale faced. Instantly, all sign of fatigue and tiredness disappeared from the faces of the two rascals as they grinned maniacally. Nothing good ever came out of those expressions.