Golden Rule

After seeing the Squad captain, the group of first years, following Baxter, were led to the top of the tower with a green flag waving at the top, a creature embroidered into the very centre of the flag.

Arthur squinted his eyes and came to recognise it as a bird. Which bird it was, he did not know. He'd never seen this kind of creature before.

It bore a long pair of wings and a long tail. Atop its head sat a crest of feathers as well, giving its slender body an elegant appearance.

The Squad Six living facilities were positioned at the top of this spire.

While living within the school was completely optional, the students still needed to gather in the common room for meetings or even when they needed some time to relax.

The journey up the stairs turned out to be more than the first years could handle.

"Lieutenant… sir… can we stop for a moment?" a girl called from the back of the group as they ascended the stairs.

Not only were the living quarters at the top, but the tower was also comically tall. The longer they climbed, the more Arthur was impressed with the architecture and patience it must have taken to build a structure of this size.

"We can rest once we've reached the Squad Six common room," Baxter replied with a straight face.

Arthur turned back to the girl, Dinah, if he remembered her name correctly. Panting heavily and barely able to keep standing, her black long hair clung to her face.

"How much further?" Arthur asked.

Baxter looked out the window and sighed, "Not much further."

The phrase seemed to breathe some life back into Dinah's face.

Momo was leaning against the wall next to the girl in a similar state. The only difference was that the brown-haired girl wasn't complaining.

Arthur guessed that she was exhausted as well. Most of them were… Even Lyra looked slightly winded. Baxter didn't spare them another glance as he proceeded up the stairs.

The Warlock showed a few signs of being tired but not nearly as much as everyone else.

By the time the Squad Six first years had made it to the Common Room, they were collapsing in any and all manners, trying to catch their breaths, "You lied… It was much farther," Dinah cried.

"Yes, I did. Arthur gave me an opening and I took it. That's the only way I could have gotten you to keep moving. Rest easy, First Years. You did well," Baxter looked away, barely holding his chuckles.

Arthur shook his head at the lieutenant but didn't say a word.

Instead, he took the time to walk around the large room. On opposite sides were two doors that led to the female and male quarters. He could already guess which side was forbidden to those of his kind.

Arthur ran his hands on shelves of books, all on topics that he couldn't begin to fathom. 'The History of Divinity,' 'Understanding Rune Theory,' 'Dark Creatures and Their Weaknesses.' 'The Making of a Corrupted Core.' 'Purification Means and Methods.'

And more titles that didn't make sense to him. Before the students could regain their breath, however, a gathering of students burst from the two doors leading to the dormitories and scores of students in green robes filtered out.

Males from one door and females from another. Arthur watched as they filed into the large room and surrounded them. He recognised a few faces from the Mess Hall and waved at them when they glanced his way.

When they were all present, they stood around the first Years in a circle. Baxter stood isolated in front of a scattering of tinted glass at the front of the Common room.

In the coloured glass was an image of a wolf shifter grinning widely, displaying a brilliant set of white teeth with prominent canines while the other image was a boy with glasses.

Baxter looked like he'd been forced to stand for the portrait and even looked away from the portrayer, his hands on his spectacles.

Crystal, on the other hand, had her hand around his neck, pulling him to stay with her throughout what looked like a perilous ordeal.

If Arthur didn't know any better, he would have thought the two of them were a couple. But after hearing their conversation, he'd come to know that Captains were third years and Lieutenants were second years.

"Welcome to Squad Six, squires," Baxter's speech began.

"I don't know what you've heard so far about Squad Six but you're stuck with us. Now then, our squad might be known to be the most disorganised squad of the six squads and there is good reason for that.

It's simply because none of us shares each other's abilities which makes it nearly impossible to specialise or depend on anyone to help you carry out your duty.

But I say that's where our strength lies," Baxter's voice remained calm and unwavering.

"It's been a very long time. Very long since our squad was blessed with a leader and even longer since we've had a dragon.

And through the years, we've just had to wing it, choosing someone amongst us to fill the position and train as hard as possible to lead.

Captain Crystal, just like I was in my first year, was chosen to lead Squad Six. Learning from our mistakes and growing stronger because of it.

It's because of this that we've learned a lot. We've suffered several defeats and celebrated even fewer victories.

However, one thing still stands. In light of our losing streak, we've also come to be known as the most resilient squad there is.

Now I don't really care what you come to think of Squad Six but I'll make this clear now. Get it in your skulls from this day forth. Members of Squad Six don't give up. Not ever. You will do well to remember our squad's golden rule," Baxter's conviction rooted the first-years to their positions, cementing the lessons deep within them.

The lieutenant's shoulders dropped and he smirked, "With that out of the way, introduce yourselves, squires."

The first years took turns introducing themselves. Lyra was the last to introduce herself before Baxter started talking again, "Now then, as with every new group of first…"

"That's not all of us," Arthur interrupted.

Everyone turned to him with odd expressions, "What do you mean?" Baxter asked.

"Oh yeah! I counted fifteen of them at the Sorting Ceremony," Beatrice pointed out. Fourteen students had spoken up.

Arthur rushed to the door and pulled it open, peeking to the side, "How long are you going to keep standing there?" he called out to someone out of sight.

"How…" a low whisper asked.

"I've been keeping an eye on you ever since I noticed your absence. Now come on in. You are a legacy after all," the prince smiled, pulling a hand of someone else outside.

The person he had been speaking to snapped into view.

A boy with black fluffy hair similar to that of the girl in the large portrait. Just like Captain Crystal, he had two pointy ears peeping out his mop of hair and his nervous smile revealed a set of prominent white canines.

"Meet…"

"Damien Fang," Edgar finished, "A Squad Six legacy."

"Exactly," Arthur smiled, still having his hand around the shy boy. In secret, he was looking for a way to touch the boy's mop of fur.

Darius facepalmed.

"Sorry for tailing you throughout the orientation," Damien bowed facing Baxter.

"It's fine. Just keep in mind that we are a family here. You don't need to hide your presence here," Baxter replied.

Fifteen students were joining the ranks of Squad Six. Compared to the other squads, this was a really low number but the upperclassmen didn't complain. They were excited to be receiving new recruits.

They even looked comfortable with the low number. Arthur was the first to introduce himself, followed by Darius and the rest of the First Years.

The upperclassmen rolled… or 'pushed' in a cake set on a floating table that had Rune Circles on its legs.

The celebration was loud but no one seemed to care. They played games, drank, ate and had a blast before they were allowed to see their rooms.

Arthur couldn't wait to retreat to their rooms. He would finally get to talk to Darius on matters concerning 'the Age of Phoenixes.'

....