Classes Begin

" it'll definitely be interesting That's for sure" replied Mack

" just so you know, you did not win the hearts of the people today. They trust you even less now than they did before if that's even possible" said Landon " you should've heard some of the things they were saying about you guys"

" what were some of the things they were saying?" Asked Vorick as he ate his pasta

Landon glanced at Dillon who shook his head silently telling him that he should not say anything. Fearing that it could make the situation worse. "I really don't think it's a good idea that I say anything"

"Aww come on" Mack whined "you can't drop a line like that and then leave it"

"one of The instructors came outside and started telling people what he heard while he was in here. Most of them thought he had just gone loopy. but once the others started coming out and confirmed his story people got scared.

You have to understand, people aren't used to gods being in this realm. A lot of the shopkeepers who have kids in the Academy and some of the parents that are just dropping their kids off Who happen to be around this area, started to question The safety of their children, and whether or not the Academy could protect them from gods." He said Gesturing towards the twins.

The twins got the jest of what Landon was trying to say. Most likely parents will start to withdraw their children solely because the Academy can't guarantee their safety. Most parents knew that there children were going to get hurt during sparring lessons and ranking battles, but All those injuries can be healed within a day as long as they don't die instantly. Most battles are stopped before they get to that point. There are even those in the hospital department that can regrow limbs.

The boys have recently found out that The aftermath of their powers are permanent for the most part. Meaning that if they get angry and regress a classmate, then said classmate will have to grow up all over again Without any memories of their life beforehand most likely. No amount of mortal magic would be able to reverse the will of a God. The boys assumed this meant healing as well. They wondered if this counted for all skills and spells or if it was just the skills and spells, they infused with divinity. Nobody would really be able to answer that question except for perhaps their system. So. Mack decided to just do that.

[ all of the hosts current set of spells require divinity to be used. The hosts Mana is converted into divine essence for the spell to use. This makes most of your spells non reversible by mortal magic. Victims would need a divine artifact to counter your magic.]

" if the spell is converting Mana into divine essence, why can't we convert Mana into divinity points? Asked Mack

[ there is a skill that you can unlock at a Higher level that will allow you to convert Mana into divinity points. The reason you can't unlock it now is because you do not Have the ability to control The power necessary for the skill]

" i thought We couldn't cultivate divinity in the mortal realm. That's what Xander said." Replied Mack he was kind of confused now.

[And he was correct you can't cultivate Divinity naturally because not enough of it exists in the mortal realm. It would take months for you to cultivate one point. But the skill that the primordial gods have developed will allow you and your brothers and sisters to convert Mana into divine essence to empower you?]

" so I'll be able to just snap my fingers and make things happen" he said. Mack was starting to like the idea of being of God.

[Yes, as long as Whatever you're trying to do is within your power]

" what do you mean by that? Can't gods do whatever they want?"

[Absolutely not, gods are not all powerful even the primordial goddesses have limits. That's why there are multiple gods. Each one being in charge of an element and the minor gods being in charge of something within those main elements. For example, your mother is the primordial goddess of light. She would not be able to perform any type of darkness related tasks. You will learn more more about this as you grow in power.]

"Hello" said Landon as he waved his hand in front of the twins. When this didn't work, he slammed his hand on the table. Which made the boys jump. They looked at him like he had two heads. " don't give me that look" he giggled " you're the ones that zoned out in the middle of a conversation"

" sorry" Vorick apologized "We were trying to confirm something before we made empty promises. And it turns out that mortal magic won't be able to compete with ours. So those parents have every right to question the safety of their children. We would never intentionally hurt anybody."

" the two of you don't seem like that type but Alex has already attacked somebody randomly. Who's to say he won't do it again" said Landon " I sat in the row immediately behind Kyle. I saw how Alex's power affected him. He may have been a wiener and a bully but he didn't deserve that. that was achin to torture."

" The darkness is unpredictable at best" said a large black rat with red eyes Who had propped himself right up there on the table top much to Dillon's disapproval. "all we can do is advise him and hope for the best. All of the Mystics want to see master succeed so we will remind him frequently to control his urges. Are you going to eat the heel of that bread?" he asked

"I suppose not" said Dillon as he tossed it over to the rat.

"Oh goodie, I love bread" the rat said with glee

"there's no use worrying about something that hasn't happened yet. That's like stressing out about a lightning striking your house when it's a sunny day." Said Dillon as he cleaned the dishes " i'm sure everything will be fine"

"So Landon, you never told us your rules yet" said Mack

" I only have a few" he said " and I promise they're not that terrible.

1) under no circumstances, are you to go in my room without me being there? You should have no reason to go in there anyway so this one's a no-brainer. Also knock if you need me. This also goes for the mystics, I would rather you guys not be in there.

2) you can come into my study as long as I'm in there. Again that's an area that was given to me. I would greatly appreciate it if you respect that.

3) don't bother Dillon unless you need a diaper change. Being royals, I'm sure you know not to bother the servants. That leads me into rule number four.

4) I am not changing your diapers that is not in my job description. I'm not sure what they're gonna do when we're in class.

5) I do not want you glued to my hip every waking hour of the day. I also don't expect you to stay in the nursery either. You may be baby gods But you've been alive for 10 years you're just as responsible as any other 10-year-old. All I ask is that you let me know where you're going to be.

6) when we leave home to go to class or whatever I want you to stick to me like flies in tree sap.

other than that, I'm pretty laid-back. I would prefer to have more of a friend type relationship than a authoritarian one. I don't expect you to call me sir or anything like that? As far as the Cultivation room and training grounds, you can use them anytime you want just let me know. oh, and one more rule. Pick up after yourselves. Try and help Dillon As much as you can. it is just him taking care of this entire house. I Don't have any friends, so I'm hoping that you'll allow me to be your friend?"

"those rules are manageable and not Degrading. I think we lucked out getting you. And we'd really really like that if you are our friend." Said Vorick

" you know a lot of people call that a conflict of interest" said Dillon as he picked up the dirty plates from the table and took them over to the sink to be washed.

"what's a conflict of Interest?" Asked Landon

" oh boy" he said slapping his forehead "hhhhhhh a conflict of interest is a situation where a person of authority treats a subordinate like a friend. It could be that they were friends prior to the situation. It could be that the subordinate is actually the authority figures kid. Basically it could become difficult to discipline them when the time comes."

" I'm not gonna argue with you over this. It's getting late and we have to be up fairly early to get ready for a class tomorrow. How are your diapers? Do you think you can make it through the night without leaking?" Asked Landon

"It's been about six hours since we've been changed last. But I think we'll be OK." Said Mack

" I'll be the judge of that" said Dillon As he motioned for the boys to approach him. He checked their diapers by inserting two fingers in the leg holes of the diaper. "I think you guys will be OK. You're a little wet, but not anywhere near needing a change."

" fantastic, I will put Them to bed tonight while you finish up here. Once you're done, meet me in the study before you leave." Said Landon as he stood " come on guys it's getting late. We should really get to bed. 6 AM comes around awful early"

" yeah you're right. Vorick here can be a bit of a grouch when he doesn't have enough sleep." Said Mack with a grin

"you're no Ray of sunshine either dummy" said Vorick as he pouted.

Landon smirked at the twins as they continued their banter all the way to their room. "wow, the headmaster actually expects you to stay in here and play with these baby toys while the number one has personal time." He said as he gazed at stuffed animals,building blocks and more.

"that's what Dillon says anyway." Said Mack as they entered the bedroom.

"wow, that's a big changing table and a big crib. I wonder if they built them specially for the two of you." He said as he reached up and found the latchs and lowered the top part of the crib. He then pulled the secondary latches inward and allowed the bottom portion to slide down. "all right you two are big boys like me and I'm not going to trap you in there like babies. Just do me a favor and don't run around the house tonight." He got no reply so he turned around and noticed both boys looking at the bed. On the bed was what looked like a black stuffed teddy bear but he knew it wasn't stuffed because he could see it breathing. "Was he there before and I just didn't notice" he thought

"Can I cuddle with you guys" asked the teddy bear

"you look just like my teddy" said Mack

"master designed me that way" it said with a giggle. Mack reached over and poked its belly, which caused it to giggle again. "are you too silly boys gonna get in bed so we can go to sleep. I promise I won't bite."

" why would Alex do that?" asked Vorick as he climbed up on to the crib mattress followed by Mack.

"Good night guys" said Landon as he shut the door. The boys got into their cocoon. They found it easier to sleep this way. Mack looked over to the teddy.

"Would it be inappropriate if I held you" he asked with a blush

" i'd be sad if you didn't" it said as it walked over and allowed Mack to cuddle it to his chest.

" i'm gonna name you, Teddy" he said as he lowered his wing sealing them inside.

"Ok" said teddy.

**********

Landon had arrived at his study and walked inside. Dillon still hadn't arrived so he decided to look around a bit. He wasn't used to such fancy stuff. Landon was an orphaned commoner from a small town called Lith who was here on scholarship. He had won his home town's annual sporting competition. Which isn't really that impressive when you consider he was the only kid with an affinity that qualified for the scholarship. Landon had an earth elemental affinity which made him quite strong even though he was quite small for his age and even looked young for his age. He also wasn't used to being in charge. he was typically the one that needed to be watched, which was why he was hesitant on accepting this. he had no experience. he didn't really know how to act.

He only had to wait a few minutes when he heard a knock at the door. He sat in the chair next to the fireplace which was the devoid of any flames due to the time of year. "Come in" he said. The door opened and Dillon walked in. He walked over and sat on the couch next to where Landon was sitting.

" I am 17 years old Little boy, I have siblings older than you. I know why you wanna talk to me. you think I overstepped my bounds by talking to you the way I did? I didn't. Let's get one thing straight. I don't work for you. I may be your personal servant while you're here. But there's also another reason as to why I am here. Another one of my responsibilities that Tyler isn't even aware of is reporting directly to the headmaster if I feel you're being a too soft or if I feel like a budding relationship is forming between the four of you and causing a conflict of interest to occur. And I'm telling you right now, you cannot be their friend. You are to be nothing more than an authoritative figure in their life. I was given explicit instructions. Also, your rules are too soft. Change them, you have till tomorrow Night."

"I am the one that makes the rules in this house, not you. I don't care how old you think you are. I am in charge here, not you." Responded Landon. "Who does this twerp think he is?" He thought

"you are in charge of the three kids, that's it. And yes, you do make the rules that they have to follow. But if I feel like those rules are too loosey-goosey, I can change them how I see fit. This is coming from the headmaster." Said Dillon with a smug smile. "I don't think you quite understand my position here"

" oh I understand your position quite well. I delt with your type before. You're a Young little servant Who thinks he's a big shot because he's been given a big responsibility. And it seems like the headmaster has made your ego even bigger by giving you a little bit of power. Well, I'm gonna need this in writing otherwise nothing changes. Now I think it's time you went home"

Dillon stood up in a huff and stomped his foot. "you'll be sorry, mark my words, you'll be out of this Academy by tomorrow" with that he turned on his heel and stomped out of the room slamming the door behind him. A few minutes later, Landon left the room and headed up to bed.

*********

Early the next morning Mack felt someone touch his wing and open it. He opened one eye to see who it was. It was Landon "wakey wakey" he giggled "time for breakfast" Mack fully opened his eyes and stretched both his arms and wings. Teddy yawned and stretched as well.

"how long have you been awake?" Asked Vorick. he noticed Landon was already in his White uniform. The boys both got out of bed and stood in front of Landon.

" i've been awake for a while" he said as he glanced at the twins diapers "those diapers are going to need changed before breakfast. Who wants to go first?"

"Wait…didn't you say last night that you weren't going to change diapers" said Vorick "your braking one of your own rules"

"Well, Dillon never showed up this morning so it's got to be me." He said getting a diaper and wipes ready

"I can change them if you want" said teddy as he hopped off the bed.

"How are you going to change them? You don't have fingers" said Landon. Suddenly teddy began to enlarge until a five foot tall teddy bear stood in the middle of the room. "Oh, ok"

"I can grow" he said as he picked up Mack who giggled and hugged his huge teddy bear. He walked over to the changing table and layed him down and proceeded to change the boy like he'd been doing it for years. The fact he didn't have fingers didn't matter.

"Well slap me thrice and call my mama." Said Landon "I'm impressed. Can you make sure they get dressed in their uniforms please."

"Sure thing" said teddy as he sat Mack down and picked up Vorick and repeated the process.

Once Landon made sure that the twins were up he walked over to Alex's room and knocked before opening the door. When he walked in he saw the two panthers on the bed still with the sleeping boy between them. "Is it time to wake him up" asked the panther on the right.

"Yeah." He croaked "we have class in a couple hours" the panthers both began licking the boy. The boy groaned and stretched. He sat up and froze looking at the strang boy in his room.

He cocked his head slightly "your the boy that Kyle was gloating to" he said "why are you here?"

"I'm the number one ranked cadet in our class" said Landon "your eyes are leaking"

"They do that now" he said "I may have to wear sunglasses or something to hide them. You must be our babysitter then. I'm Alex what your name" he said as he hoped out of bed.

"Landon" he said shaking the boys hand "sunglasses might make the situation worse by making you look more intimidating."

"Nothing I can do about the intimidation factor" he said

"Anyway breakfast is ready" said Landon "get that wet pull-up changed and into your uniform and I'll see you in the kitchen. Do you remember where the small pull ups are?"

Alex gave him a blank look "small pull ups"

"Yeah, you wear the smallest size now any younger and you'll have to wear diapers"

He ran over to a full length mirror and gasped then remembered what happened yesterday. "Well crap" he said "ok I'll meet you down stairs"

"Ok" he said as he opened the door "oh, and the wings look good on you"

Alex smiled as big as he could "thanks" he said as he dropped the wet pull up to the floor.

"Great" he laughed "now ive been mooned"

*********

"Something had to have happened For someone like Dillon to not show up for work" said Vorick as he stuffed his face with an egg sandwich.

"Had to of. He Doesn't strike me as the type of person that would skip out on an opportunity like this. Definitely the bossy type. I could see that when we met him yesterday." Said Mack

"maybe the mystics were too much for him and he opted out" said Vorick

"that's definitely not it" said Ratta the mystic rat that likes the kitchen. "he and Landon, I think is his name, got into a big argument yesterday after he put you two to bed."

"what was it about?" Asked Mack

" do you wanna know our opinion, the mystics that is?" Ratta asked

" sure why not" said Vorick taking another bite of a sandwich

" the servant boy is more than a normal servant. He was specifically chosen by the headmaster himself. All the other volunteers were threatened with job loss if they didn't withdrawal their interest. Poor Landon was exposed to the gritty truth last night. He tried to put the servant boy in his place, but the servant boys ego was a bit too large for him to deal with. He was told that his rules that he set for us was too soft and not restrictive enough. Said he was gonna go to the headmaster if he didn't change them. Then when Landon went off on him, the servant boy told him that he'd be out of the Academy by tonight." Said Ratta as he ate some scrambled eggs that Landon made specifically for him.

" how did you know the first part?" Asked Mack

" I read his mind yesterday after he came back to the kitchen after their fight" he said

"Hmmm I understand why you did it, but you really shouldn't read peoples minds without their consent or Alex's permission. It could be seen as a violation of personal space."

"yeah the last thing we want is to get in trouble for violating the sanctity of someone's mind" said Vorick "but i thought that the number one was in charge and could make the rules how he wanted"

" According to what I saw in his mind he can. But if the servant boy feels the rules are lacking, he can go to the head master and Landon could be forced to change his rules. Servant boy did go a bit too far yesterday though."

" so the person that's ultimately in charge is Dillon. Landon just has false authority." Said Mack

" Landon has true authority. The servant boy is just a glorified tattletale and thinks that Landon is giving you too much freedom. He is unaware that things have changed slightly." Said Ratta

"this Dillon guy is going to be a thorn in our side" said Vorick

"you guys talking about Dillon" said Landon who had been listening from outside in the hallway.

" yeah, Ratta told us about what happened last night after you put us to bed" said Mack

"I guess privacy is too much to ask for" he said "oh well, I wouldn't worry too much about him. He's just a servant that thinks too highly of himself."

" I hope so" said Vorick as Alex walked through the doorway. All attention was on him as he was wearing the same black and gold uniform as the twins. The only difference was he was wearing a pair of sunglasses that hid his eyes. The mist still came out from the bottom, which made his intimidation factor go up quite a bit. "the sunglasses do nothing to soften your image if that's what you're going for"

"people are gonna be terrified of me regardless, so why try?" He stated as he walked to the table and sat down. You too built himself an egg sandwich.

"we have about 10 minutes before we have to head out guys so go ahead and finish up and we'll go get this first day over with" said Landon

" are you guys nervous?" Asked Alex

" maybe a little bit, why, are you" asked Mack as he jump off his chair and walked his plate and glass to the sink and washed it.

"Yep" he nodded " what if they hate me"

" I don't think them hating you is the problem you're gonna have to deal with" said Landon "they're going to be too terrified of you to hate you. Getting them to trust you is going to be the challenge. They"ll trust your brothers here before they trust you. Every time they have a nightmare, they're gonna think it's you."

" worst case scenario obviously" said Mack as he gave his new brother a big hug. "It's going to be ok. It might be rough but we'll survive"

"I'm not getting my hopes up" said Landon "kids can be cruel or so I've heard. Anyway did you guys pack a diaper bag?"

"No, do you think we should. Mom told us that they would have some in the nurses station" said Mack

"if you're sure they have spares then I wouldn't worry about it" said Landon as he ushered everyone towards the door.

" would you like us to come with you?" Asked one of the panthers

" I don't know if that would be such a good idea. I'm already intimidating enough without adding claws and teeth to it. No offense." Said Alex as he said goodbye to the panthers

"None taken young master. At least take the owl with you. she'll be over the moon" said the panther

"I suppose an owl isn't that intimidating" said Alex

"Oh goody, I get to go to school" they heard from above. They looked up to see a very large night owl that was as black as night itself gliding silently down from its pertch on the balcony. She came to a perfect landing right on Landon's head.

Landon gasped and froze in his tracks. His eyes were wide. "Ummmm…..Alex"

"Looks like owletta likes you" giggled Alex

Owletta bent over and looked into Landon's eyes. "Haha you should see your face cutie pie" she laughed "its priceless"

" Maybe it would be a good idea if you, I don't know, sat on Alex's head" said Landon. He was hoping the bird would take the hint.

"Oh I guess" she said as she flew over and landed on Alex's shoulder. Alex stroked her plumage.

"you're such a pretty owl" he said cutely

"Awww thank you sweetie" she said "let's go boys, time to learn"

All four boys giggled at the owls excitement and left the house.