First day of classes...

CHAPTER 3

Edmon opened the door for Lauren and Demeatral. "Well, that was a lot of information. Are you okay? He asked.

"I guess. It was a lot, but I think I am okay. I want to do this." Lauren replied.

"Great." Demeatral bounced up beside Lauren. " Let's get to our first class, shall we."

They led Lauren out of the seventh spire and into the sixth spire, home of the priests and guardians. The spire was completely white inside. There were no pictures or colors anywhere. Just white. Everything, even the furniture was white. Lauren wasn't comfortable. She missed the colors and the changes the colors created as the sun hit them. They entered a large lecture hall and took seats midway through the room. Edmon and Demeatral sat on either side of Lauren. The room was soon filled with students wearing all the different colors. Lauren thought it would have been just the priests and guardians.

A tall slim man walked up to the podium. He was extremely skinny and looked like his limbs could have been tree branches. His hair was wild all over his head. He wore a white and gold long tunic over pants. "Hello, everyone." He began. His voice was deep, rich, and accented, it made it hard to understand him. "I will be teaching you history and cultures. You will learn of all the different creatures, and realms, and how they came to be. You cannot stop a catastrophe if you don't know the beings that are causing it."

Lauren realized that the teacher was talking directly to her but had not introduced himself or made it clear that he was talking to her. He continued his lecture, finally acknowledging the other students. "At the beginning of time and after the fall of man, magic entered the realms in the form of imagination. The imagination of humans is the source of our creations. God gave humans dominion over all the realms, but they have a hard time controlling their imagination. When an emotional tie is connected to a thought, that thought could become a newly born creation."

Lauren was fascinated. To think that all the weird storybook creatures she loved in books could all be real and all because someone attached an emotion to a thought. At the end of the class, Edmon and Demeatral stayed seated waiting for the rest of the students to leave. "Hello, professor." Edmon started the conversation. When the professor turned to look at them, he continued. "This is Lauren, the Keeper's student."

"Hello," Lauren said. She didn't reach her hand out to shake his because she wasn't sure if he would reciprocate. She waited for him to reply.

"You will do well as the Keeper." He stated. "You didn't try to force your way into my space and gave me time to initiate first contact after introduction. Very good and you did it naturally. You don't even know what type of creature I am, do you?"

"I am not sure, but I wouldn't have appreciated having pressure put on me to touch another person when I just met them. I treated you how I would want to be treated. If you had reached out to shake my hand then I probably would have."

"Very good. My name is Professor Garvin. I am a vampire. I am one of the oldest beings here. If you would have given me the invitation to touch you, we would have a scent bond and you would have become my next victim. I would have hated to have to kill you. You have very strong natural protection genes. That is very good."

Lauren's initial reaction was to be shocked. Then she had a sense of pride. She felt like she had passed her first test. She did not cause a rift with another culture. "Thanks. I hope I can continue to do just as well in all my classes."

"Just remember that you are the new person here and allow the others to make first contact after introductions. You are a quick learner and will do just fine."

"Is it improper to ask your age?"

"Because of the way you asked, no. I am 4000 years old. I have seen the beginning of time and will continue to see the time change."

He stopped talking and walked away. "Wow. He is scary and yet respect-worthy. I am glad I didn't touch him. You know it is a form of etiquette to shake hands when you meet a person. If I had done that, I could be dead now." Lauren observed.

" I don't think he would have hurt you. He is a priest. It's his job to break your bad habits and build your knowledge." Edmon pointed out. "He might have terrorized you for a while but not killed you."

"On to our next class," Demeatral said, all three of them giggled as they walked. They started towards the fifth spire. There were computers and technology everywhere. They make it to a computer lab and again sit in the center of the class, Edmon on one side of Lauren and Demeatral on the other.

The computer turned on and began to boot up. The instructor popped on the screen. "Hello. My name is Ezra, and I am your virtual instructor. I'm here to help you if you need help with anything. In this class, you will learn to use spy tools." Lauren was stunned. She was going to spy on people. "You will have to watch others and determine if they are dangerous. Knowing how to use these tools will help. Of course, you have a grand support team, but you shouldn't trust others to do what you cannot do."

Lauren was instructed to follow the steps provided to find Waldo. Yes. She was playing a computer game called Where's Waldo. She did as she was told and before long, she found Waldo and the class ended. "I think I had fun finding Waldo. Using the tool to guide the drone wasn't as hard to use as I thought it would be." Lauren said.

"I'm glad," Ezra said. "You follow directions well. I hope that doesn't mean you are easily influenced."

"I don't think so," Lauren replied. "I know it's necessary to judge the instructions you are given so you don't do anything that would hurt yourself or those you are protecting."

"Good. I will test that instinct often in this class and things will get harder and more complicated. I see your strength and ingenuity. I'm excited to see you grow, future keeper."

"Thanks."

They left the lab on the way to the next class. The fourth spire was like walking into a greenhouse. Plants and humidity air-conditioned the atmosphere. There was an aviary filled with birds, butterflies, and several small flying creatures Lauren wasn't sure of. Little lights floated in the air lighting a path. They beckoned for her to follow them, but she didn't move. She waited for Edmon or Demeatral to lead the way. Edmon moved on and then she followed. The light floated away.

Once in the aviary, they again took seats in the center of the class. Suddenly, a giant red bird landed in front of the class. It burst into flames and as the ashes fell away, became a beautiful slender woman, barely wearing clothes but covered modestly by her hair. Lauren was screaming with excitement in her head, "A Phoenix! Oh my God!" Thankfully, it was only in her head.

"Welcome. I see our heir has joined us today. I'm glad the Will-o-the-wisps didn't tempt you to follow them. That means you have the common sense to trust your guardians. You are showing great promise."

"Thank you. I do trust them, but I am also very new here. I figured they would know better than me right now and I am actually putting my trust in the keeper's choice of support for me. I know Edmon and Demeatral are her choices."

"Very good. I'm Valentine and I am a phoenix. I will be teaching you how to survive in nature and heal naturally and with magic." Lauren knew she was going to love this class.

"The lesson today was the wisps." Suddenly, a little light shone beside Lauren. It was beautiful and she wanted to touch it. Edmon didn't let her. "Wisps are as dangerous as they are cute. They will lead you down a path that will definitely get you lost. They entice you but they only want to drain your life force." Lauren only stared. She could not move. She kept trying to touch the wisp, but Edmon never let go of her arm. Valentine walked up next to Lauren and into her line of sight so she couldn't see the wisp. "You are susceptible to their lure. You must be careful." Valentine waved the wisp away. Then she turned to Edmon and Demeatral, "Let the keeper know of this. For now, I will give her a barrier charm." Valentine reached into her pocket and pulled out a bracelet then put it on Lauren's wrist. The spell broke and Lauren was able to think again. She had no idea what happened. "You are all right child."

"Sorry. Did I fall asleep?" Lauren asked.

"No. As we go through these lessons, we will be able to learn what you can handle and what you can't. You can't handle wisps, yet, but you can be taught how to. I am very happy that you didn't lose your composure and fight your guardians. You will do well and as you grow, so will your tolerance."

"Okay. I will trust the process." Lauren said. " I know I have a lot to learn. I do have a question."

'Yes?"

"What would have happened if I would have touched the wisp?"

"Good question. Because you are not able to resist it yet, they would have sapped some of your life force. They are not really evil or bad creatures. Actually, once you become tolerant, you can get them to guide you out of bad situations or back home if you get lost. They just don't play well with others and feed off of life force."

"Oh. So, it would be helpful to befriend them once I am stronger."

"Yes." Valentine took flight and gave the class a goodbye wave of heat.

Class ended and the group moved on to the second spire. "This is as far out of the spires you may venture without a full guard," Demeatral said. "The outer ring and spire are all filled with well-trained fighters and protectors. If anything ever penetrates this palace, there would be great troubles in the realms. Your safety is of paramount importance. I hope you understand."

"I do," Lauren replied. "If I put myself in danger, I put you and everyone else in danger. I get it. I am here to learn."

"Good. Now, let's go learn to use weapons." Edmon said with a laugh. They stood in the center of the students waiting for the instructor to come into the class. In the distance, there was the sound of swords clashing. Everyone in the class moved to see what was going on. Right before their eyes, two huge men were sword fighting. The men circled each other looking for openings. They would swing their swords countering each other, trying to get a fatal strike. The class watched on. Neither man seemed to get an upper hand. Finally, one ducked low and tripped the other pinning him to the ground. The pinned man tapped out and the match was over. The winner helped his opponent up and they shook hands. They both walked over to the class, mirror images of each other, and greeted them, "Hello." They said in unison. "We are the Gemini twins, Tosh and Cosh, and we are your armed combat and physical health instructors."

The students went to a dressing room and got dressed for physical activity. Lauren's purple jogging pants and t-shirt were comfortable, and she was tying her sneakers when D]emeatral came out wearing her brown exercise clothes. "Ready?" Demeatral asked.

"Definitely."

They headed out to what could only be called a gym. After Cosh led them in several stretching exercises, they were told to run two miles on an indoor track. Lauren stayed in the middle of the pack as they ran and soon realized the other students were letting her set the pace. If she sped up, so did they. As the end of the two miles neared, Lauren broke into a sprint. The rest of the students also began to sprint trying to keep her in the middle of them. When they stopped many were panting, some laid out on the ground, and still, others were pacing trying to stay loose.

"Wonderful run," Tosh exclaimed. "You set a great pace and put a challenge on at the end. I'm glad to see you are not lacking in athletic ability."

"I loved track in high school and college. Gymnastics was my second favorite. Archery third. I love the outdoors and hiking." Lauren informed him. "I continued to stay fit and practice when I got older. It's a great way to stay healthy. My gym membership was well used."

"What a wonderful delight. You are going to do magnificently! The giant of a man grabbed Lauren in a tight hug, lifting her off the ground. Then he placed her back on her feet.

Once he moved away, Edmon moved over next to Lauren and said, "The Gemini twins are bear shifters. They love to hug and are the best warriors around. A hug like that from Tosh in high praise." Lauren smiled.

The class moved back into the arena area and sat down. Cosh and Tosh began discussing the different weapons that were on racks around the room. "Since you have some experience with a bow and arrow, we will start with that," Cosh stated while holding out a beautiful set. Lauren stood and bravely took the weapon. They stepped out towards the targets. Lauren took aim and shot the targets right in the bullseyes. Tosh led her through a practice range with moving targets and she did great there as well only missing one target. "Glad to see you have skills."

"Thanks. I have always loved archery." Lauren rejoined the class, and the other students continued their turns shooting the bow and arrows.

When Edmon and Demeatral went to take their turns, Lauren sat by herself for the first time. "Hi." A strong male voice spoke to her unexpectedly.

Lauren turned around. "Hello." She looked up to see a guy that looked her age with snow-white hair and a small jewel in the center of his forehead.

"I'm Davis. I enjoyed running with you. You are not what we expected."

"Really? What did you expect?"

"Well, most of us thought the Keeper student would be weak and out of shape, not athletic."

"Oh. I have always been health and fitness conscious."

"That's good. You will give us a challenge. I'm a unicorn by the way. I hope to become your steed."

"My steed?"

"Yes. There are twelve of us here and after a while, a competition will be held. One of us will become your steed and two will become your standby rides. It's a great honor."

"Wow. I didn't know. Everything is so new to me."

"Don't worry. You are doing great." With that, he walked away and back to a group of guys all with snow-white hair and a jewel in their foreheads.

Edmon came back by Lauren's side. " Everything okay? He asked.

"Yes. I just found out that I am going to have a unicorn steed."

"Yes. A Pegasus and a dragon as well." Lauren was shocked but also excited. " You will learn to use a magic carpet, control a Djinn and so much more. If it happened in a book, you could do it. Lauren thought about that. The possibilities were unending.