Chapter 11: New Day

"Did you pack everything?" Solomon asked.

"Maybe. Can you do a roll call?" Eric answered.

"Seven fresh pairs of clothing?" Solomon said.

"Checked," Eric said.

"Three pairs of different shoes and gloves?"

"Got them."

"Ten packets of chalk?"

"Yes, I'm adding one more just to be safe."

"Textbooks and pencils?"

"Yep, I'm packing some quills too, since it was informed in the letter."

"Ingredients jars and supplies pouches?"

"Have them!"

"Are they organized?"

"Yes, I double-checked."

"Empty bottles and containers?"

"Right next to the ingredients."

"Then that's it." Solomon sighed as she made Eric sit down.

Eric hummed. "What's wrong, Master? You are awfully quiet today."

Solomon didn't respond as she combed Eric's long hair. Eric felt his hairpin pulled out while something else took its place. After Solomon backed away, Eric stared at a mirror and saw his moss hairpin replaced with a flowery red hairpin.

Eric turned towards Solomon. "I can't accept this."

Solomon chuckled. "It doesn't matter, I'm giving it to you anyway."

"But it was your mother's." Eric whimpered.

"So what? I feel more at ease if I left it in your hands. And besides, it looks better on you than on me." Solomon smirked.

"Master Solomon..." Eric muttered as he hugged Solomon.

"Let's get going. Ash, Kai and Lux were already sent to the academy, they'll be waiting for you." Solomon said as she patted Eric's back.

"Okay." Eric sniffled.

After they packed their things, Eric and Solomon went their way to the Umeadora Academy. At the east edge of the Bozzile City, there stood a building similar to a castle. The front gate was flooded with apprentices and Masters wherever you looked.

"Master... I'm scared." Eric whispered as he held Solomon's hand tightly.

"You almost got yourself killed many times through the past six years, yet you're still afraid of crowds." Solomon chuckled.

"I don't want you to go," Eric muttered with a teary eye.

"Stop it. You make it sound that I'm going to die." Solomon groaned.

"You dying is what's unsettling, it's the fact I have to be separated from you for so long." Eric frowned as he leaned his head against Solomon's head.

Solomon sighed. "Yeah, well I've been alone ever since I was born. Even after I got a friend when I turned seven, I lost him immediately. I thought I wouldn't be able to make any other friends after that,"

"Master..." Eric muttered before he was aggressively patted on the head.

"Ow~" Eric groaned as he stared up at Solomon grinning face.

"But I have you and your annoying gorgons, so no matter what place I travel. I've always reminded myself that I have four beautiful little children waiting for me when I return home. So don't forget, no matter where you are. You are always welcomed home." Solomon said as she hooked a golden locket necklace around Eric's neck.

"What's this?" Eric asked as he stared at the locket.

"Don't open it until you enter your room, okay?" Solomon said as she tucked the locket into Eric's shirt.

"Okay," Eric said.

"Eric!" yelled a voice.

Both Eric and Solomon turned their direction toward the crowd as a short young man waved towards them.

"Clover!" Eric smiled as he waved back.

Clover tumbled a bit as he managed to squeeze through the crowd. "You finally came, I've been waiting."

"Really? I didn't realize, sorry." Eric said before Solomon tapped his shoulder.

"So who's the dwarf?" Solomon said as she stared down at Clover.

"Master, this is my friend Clover. I meant him when I got my letter." Eric said.

"Clover Thrash?" Solomon questioned.

Eric nodded. "That right!"

Solomon stared at Clover before kneeled in front of him. Clover stiffened as he wore a nervous smile. Compare to a tall guy like Eric, his master was giant. Solomon also had her mask on, so Clover couldn't exactly read her expression. Not like it mattered since always showed her typical deadpan expressions.

Solomon reached out her hand as she picked Clover off the ground with ease. "When you told me that he was short, I didn't expect him to be so small. He's absolutely adorable." Solomon chuckled as she pinched Clover's dusted cheeks.

Clover didn't know what he was expecting when first saw Eric's master, but he didn't expect his master has such a friendly side.

"Master stop it. Clover is not a doll." Eric said as he took Clover off of Solomon's hands.

"What are you doing to my apprentice?" their eyes turned a tall bulky man with a braided beard.

Solomon stared for a moment before she took off her mask. "Odin?"

"Solomon?! It has been too long!" the bulky man chuckled as he gave Solomon a huge hug.

"It has!" Solomon laughed as she hugged back.

"Master, you know this man?" Eric muttered.

After Solomon and Odin separate from each other, Solomon beamed as she patted Eric's shoulder.

"Of course I do! I knew this old rust bucket ever since I was seven, we would always have a drink together at the pub." Solomon grinned.

"We're practically drinking buddies," Odin added with a hearty laugh.

"YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE FRIEND?!" Eric gasped before Solomon smacked his head.

"Ow!" Eric groaned.

"Excuse me, but can you put me down?" Clover grumbled.

"Sorry," Eric said as he attempted to place Clover down.

Odin then pulled Clover by the collar before he placed him on Odin's shoulder. "I'm sorry if Clover bothers you."

"Not at all, Eric and Clover are friends. Isn't that right Eric?" Solomon said.

Eric nodded his head.

Odin turned this gaze at Clover as he sternly said. "Is this true?"

"Yes," Clover said nervously as he nodded.

"So the boy is your son, right? The younger son, of course." Solomon asked.

Odin hummed. "He is,"

"I still can't believe Master has another friend," Eric said before he got another smack.

"Shut up." Solomon groaned.

The apprentices left their masters and entered the academy building. The main hall was filled with students of different ages, while chatter filled the air.

"There are so many people." Eric awes.

"Yeah..." Clover said as he tried to hid his slightly embarrassed face.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked.

"Nothing," Clover said as he held Eric's hand.

How did Clover end up in this situation?

[One hour earlier]

"Clover, may I ask you something?" Solomon asked.

"What is it, Master Solomon?" Clover said.

"Eric has a habit of wondering to places he shouldn't be. So can I ask you to hold his hand, that way Eric doesn't get lost?" Solomon said with a concerned expression.

"Uh... sure? I'll keep an eye on him." Clover said as he was unaware of what's to come.

When she said that, Clover thought Eric only could not recognize new places. That he'll need a guide just to help a little bit. However, Clover was horribly mistaken, he should've taken Master Solomon's warning more seriously.

"No Eric! That's the Exit! The Hall is this way!" Clover yelled as he chased after Eric.

"Really? I had no idea." Eric said with an innocent smile.

This guy seriously has no sense of direction! Clover screamed in his head.

[Present time]

If Clover let go of Eric's hand for even a second, he'll disappear from his side. And who knows where Eric might end up in. Clover had pulled on Eric's leg, so Eric didn't fall into a hole in the ground.

Clover sighed to himself before Grandmaster Dune began his speech.

"Good day everyone! I hoped I didn't keep you waiting too long." Dune said with a kind smile.

"As you all know, it's a new year. Which means new challenges, new events and some brand new faces!" Dune smiled.

"And for the newcomers who may not know, before we send you in to your rooms. We'll have to check what dorm you'll go in. How we do this is by taking the letters you receive from the church and put in this cup." Dune said as he gestured to a big golden cup with fire.

"The letter will burn and the flame will change colour, and that colour will represent the dorm you'll go to," Dune said as he place a letter into the fire.

The flame flickers slightly before it changed into a yellow fire. "Yellow is the colour of honesty, the colour of optimism, the colour of caution. Prince Hero Zephyr was the first celestial wizard within humanity, he discovered to reach the celestials themselves."

Another letter fell into the fire, thus it changed into green. "Green is the colour of growth, the colour of hope, the colour of good luck. Lord Darby Pim was a wizard that valued nature, he was also the man who written the books of creatures."

Dune threw another letter into the flaming cup and the fire turned blue. "Blue is the colour of creativity, the colour of knowledge, the colour of intuition. King Reed Weston saved many nations from war with his intelligence and fast foresight, he was the man who lived longer than any human on Pugnore."

The last letter burned inside the cup as the flame became purple. "Purple is the colour of independence, the colour of peace, the colour of ambition. Grandmaster Nova Finch, my great-great-great-grandfather, the founder of our beloved academy, and the man who created the term wizard in Pugnore."

Dune softly smiled as he gestured his hand, the new first-year students raised and stood within a line in front of the flaming cup. Apprentices took their letters and put them in the cup, the flame changed colour, and was sent to their dorm group.

"Next!" Dune called as Clover walked in front of the cup.

"Please don't be Zephyr. I'll be perfectly in any other dorm instead of the Zephyr Dorm." Clover whispered to himself before he threw his letter into the cup.

"Purple! You are joining the Finch Dorm, Clover Thrash!" Dune chuckled.

"Thank you." Clover sighed as he joined the Finch dorm group.

"Next!" Dune called as Eric walked up to the flaming cup.

"I wonder which dorm I'll get?" Eric grinned as he toss his letter.

The flame flickered as the fire changed into different colours. Dune stroke his beard in curiosity, as he has never seen the flame react this way before. The flame soon settled down as the colour turned purple.

"Purple! You are joining the Finch Dorm, Eric Brace!" Dune announced as he watched Eric walked next to Clover.

"What an interesting boy," Dune muttered to himself before he continued with the rest of the apprentices.

"So how do you two know each other?" spoke a man with lavender hair and grape-purple eyes.

"We met at the church and became friends afterwards," Clover explained.

"Really? That must be nice for you two." the man said.

"It's really funny how we ended in the same dorm together," Eric commented.

"It must be luck," Clover said.

"I thought luck is only for Pim dorm?" Eric joked.

"I guess that's why you weren't put in the Pim dorm, cause you suck at directions." Clover joked.

"Hey! That's so mean!" Eric said before he laughed with Clover.

The man chuckled. "You two are really good friends, I hope that last over graduation."

"Is this the place," Clover said as the three of them stopped in front of a golden door.

"Wow~ this is my room?" Eric awed.

"You got the golden letter, so you get the golden room." the man chuckled.

"Thank you again for leading us here, Avis," Clover said.

"Please, I may be your upperclassmen but we are still fellows of the Finch Dorm. So please call me Cody." Cody smiled.

"Thank you, Cody," Eric said as he hugged Cody.

"ERIC?! STOP THAT! YOU DON'T JUST HUG PEOPLE OUT OF THE BLUE!" Clover panicked.

"But he's friendly." Eric whimpered.

Cody laughed as he hugged Eric back. "You are the only first-year whoever hugged me, and you're taller than me too! I like you, Eric! Our dorm needed your shared tenderness!"

Cody let Eric go before he walked away and Eric waved. "Thank you, I'll see you again when I get stumped."

Cody waved and continued to walk away, before he got out of view, Cody yelled. "I almost forgot to mention to you earlier, Eric! You have a roommate!"

"A roommate?" Eric said with a puzzled expression.

"Cool! If they live in the golden room too, that's mean they have to be a talented wizard!" Clover grinned widely.

"I hope they are nice," Eric said before he opened the door.

The room was overly large as there were two king-size beds on each side of the room. Soft sangria-purple carpet covered the floor, two big plum couches with a coffee table between them in the centre of the room, tall mulberry curtains that reached the ceiling, the walls were eggplant-purple and there were two large violet office desks in front of the crystal clear windows.

"This is so awesome..." Clover awed.

"Yep," Eric simply said as he walked in and had eye contact with a pair of midnight eyes.

"What are you doing here?" spoke a familiar voice.

"This is his room." Clover huffed.

"That can't be..." Onyx muttered as he stepped back.

All was silent before Eric busted out in laughter.