The Entrance Tests (2)

We have made the Dragons and Riders Academy. Next, we shall elect one who shall become a supreme head over this special institution, administrating what has to be done, and executing the rules against those who break them. This supreme shall not be held back by the Royalty Council save in special cases, and he will head the academy independently and free from any form of external intervention. We shall call him the Primarch.

- Dragon and Riders Academy by Palet Lenklock.

Kaelan's declaration had heads turning towards them in a way that made Vinnandra feel uncomfortable.

Equality for all?

Shining torchlight?

What was the man on?

"Whatever he is on it is something strong." Thalia quipped, mirroring her thoughts.

"Yes indeed. Very strong." Vinn agreed, nodding her head.

Kaelan didn't seem to mind their jest. He instead drops his hand from his chest, easing his stance, and then turns to face Vinn squarely.

"You my dear have always fascinated me." He says while Vinn narrows her eyes at him. He is relentless though, "I've always wondered, dragon or witch what you might be?" He squints at her as if examining her which only annoys Vinn but not entirely in a bad way.

"Something in between," She answers his question, raising her left eyebrow at his startled expression. He asked a question, and she answered, did she not?

"Whatever could that be…!" He exclaims dramatically. This time, he comes closer to Vinn, taking her face in his hands and examining them. Next, he sniffs at her hair, takes her palm in his and feels her skin. "You look pretty much the same as us." He concludes, done with his inspection.

Vinnandra was stunned into silence, taken aback by his impudent behaviour. This man knew no boundaries. Did he just sniff her like a... like a dog? She should have been angry, but Kaelan's innocent expression sent her into fits of laughter instead. "What difference were you expecting?" she managed to ask between laughs.

Kaelan scratched his hair in the manner Vinn found he usually did, looking genuinely puzzled. "I don't know, I thought maybe you'd have blue blood or something. But your veins are pumping red just like every other person."

As if a light bulb went off in his brain, he clutched Vinn's shoulders, his eyes shining with enlightenment. "You're the conviction I've been looking for. Now, more than ever, I am convinced that my cause is right and just. Now, I've even more gusto to preach equality for all. Thank you Vinn, for giving me the inspiration I've been looking for all this while." He concludes, then does the most bizarre thing.

He sat on the bare floor—wet ground, debris and all—then proceeded to produce a book and a pen from his backpack and started scribbling furiously in it.

He was inspired indeed.

Not long after Kaelan's new found inspiration, a bell rang indicating that the results had been released. Every applicant rushed towards the hall, anxious to view the results from the viewing boards. There were about a hundred of such boards, with the results replicated in each of them according to regions. The air in particular was clogged with varying emotions…fear, anticipation, hope.

Vinn took her time to get to the boards amidst multiple defeated expressions and just very few elated ones. She wasn't surprised when she saw the name Vinnandra Albridge in the list of qualifiers from the south. What surprised her though was the fact that only sixty-nine applicants out of a number not less than three hundred made it to the list.

In total, only about three hundred applicants qualified for the second tests. A royalty, judging by how he was richly dressed was screaming and stomping on the ripped results, creating a horrid scene.

"What? I did not qualify for the second test? How on earth is a blue blood expected to write smack about his country?!

"That.Is.UNPATRIOTIC!" He screamed, his face red from both the cold and barely contained rage. The boy was ripping at things, swinging a heavy stick about him, and everyone was trying to give him a wide breadth so as not to be a victim of his madness. The applicants that didn't qualify were already taking their leave, each person as baffled as the next. Over nine hundred applicants were disqualified at the first stage.

"And what do you know about patriotism?" A frigid voice rang out, its owner making his way to the angry prince. The crowd parted, revealing a man who appeared to be in his forties, though the richness of his presence belied his age, giving him a timeless quality. He was draped in a black fur cloak and black leather gloves, his ivory white hair adding a striking contrast to his dark attire.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" the angry prince continued, his voice filled with indignation. The entire crowd gasped, taken aback by his defiance. But even they couldn't help but notice the newcomer's commanding presence. He exuded an aura of power that was undeniable, making it clear that he was not exactly a small person.

Vinn watched with bated breaths. "Do you know why an essay is the first test, instead of something as simple as the aptitude tests?" The man asked, pulling off the leather gloves—finger by finger—from his hands.

"I am Cedric Taramas!" Angry prince bellowed, his face now a deeper shade of red. The Taramas' and Albridge's were the lords in the south, but still, the boy had a lot of guts mouthing off simply because he was a royalty. Vinn couldn't help but notice Malone and Marenda observing the spectacle. Malone, with his usual air of indifference, seemed utterly bored, while Marenda wore a devilish grin. The latters eyes accidentally locked with Vinn's, causing her heart to quicken inexplicably. She quickly looked away, trying to steady herself.

The Ivory white-haired man, now done with the task of prying his gloves from his fingers, took a step towards the angry prince. Then another. With only one step separating them he answered his earlier question, "Because there is no need to wait until the end to weed out thrash. If dirt must be removed, it's better to do it at the start rather than at the end."

Angry prince roared and swung for Ivory white-haired man, but he caught it easily, throwing Angry Prince like a sack of potatoes. Vinn wished Kaelan was there to tell her who the older man was, no other person at her side seemed to know him.

"That is the Primarch." A familiar voice announced.