Chapter 8

Damien sat quietly in his dorm room,staring into space. The boy was thinking deeply over the events of the last couple of days. The goddess of Shilock had appeared before him when he was testing out his power. The deep interest that the goddess showed spoke volumes of his power, giving him a rough idea of his strength levels. They had proceeded to his parents where an apparently obvious truth had been given: the Snows were not his real parents. Damien had suspected this to be the case ever since Aldwin had been born. There was a stark difference between their physical attributes that was hard to miss. Aldwin had his mother's brown eyes and the messy shock of red hair that he inherited from his father, Richard. In contrast, Damien had long greyish hair and striking blue eyes that bore no resemblance to the Snows'. This all apart from his raw power which began manifesting the day he was born. Aldwin was still able to manifest any power,typical of a normal human baby. Nevertheless, the goddess had instructed the Snows to safe-guard this truth of Damien's power until necessary and she,the goddess, would watch over the boy's life as he enrolls at the school of magic.

Naturally,these events had at first created some kind of awkward moment,especially when the boy had not shown any obvious signs of surprise at the news,but rather proceeded to explain his previous suspicions over the matter. He had then assured that this revelation should not alter the relationship that had already been fostered in the family.

The deity was clearly surprised at the very mature response to something that would normally shake the emotions of anybody, let alone a seven-year-old boy. Afterwards, the goddess had left the Snows and promised to reach out to Damien sometime during his school term. Fast forward a few days later and he had travelled to school for his first semester. Leading to his current state of staring into an empty space,wondering what the future held.

His revelry was disturbed by a noise in the corridor,the sounds of hushed discussions just outside his door,which was promptly followed by a soft knock on the door. Damien was about to get up and open the door,when it opened of its own accord,before a small messy head peeped through the door. Neville Surefoot grinned happily when his eyes fell on Damien's surprised face.

"Hello roomie!",he said,moving deeper into the room with his slightly embarrassed parents following in his wake.

"These are my parents," said Neville as Damien shook their hands,first with his Dad, who had the same full grin as Neville,then his mother,small and beautiful.

"My son insisted that i speak with your boarding master to put him in the same room as you," preferred Mr Surefoot," Neville told me about how you saved his neck with those bullies the other day. So i thought it would be a grand idea for you to be roommates. I hope that wasnt too forward of me", he added quickly.

"No,not at all. A familiar face would be good here. I was secretly hoping we would bump into each other. This is even better!",said Damien,helping Neville with his suitcases,which were a bit too many for a boy. Mrs Surefoot was smiling quietly and was already fussing over her son's bags and trunk.

"Now you two boys be good and stay out of trouble. We are leaving you now and will see you at the end of the term. Study hard and grow strong, hey," she said.

"We expect a proper show of power at the next test of intent. That one is very important," added Mr Surefoot.

"Will do Dad,now don't worry," said Neville.

As Mr Surefoot was about to turn around he paused,as if a new thought had occurred to him. "Your parents are already gone,Damien?" He asked.

"Yes, I came here quite early. They were keen for me to be fully rested before I attended the orientation," he said.

" Ok thats fine then. Please,pass my warm regards to them when you see them next,hey?"

" Definitely Mr Surefoot,"

They promptly closed the door behind them and Neville jumped onto the bed,complete with shoes, and sighed happily.

"I really hope you aren't mad at me for fighting my way to be your roommate, " he said guardedly.

" Nah, I'm actually happy," said Damien as he lay on his bed as well,mimicking Neville.

"MAY ALL NEW STUDENTS PROCEED TO THE ORIENTATION HALL IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT,ALL STUDENTS PROCEED IMMEDIATELY TO THE ORIENTATION HALL IMMEDIATELY. THE PREFECTS WILL DIRECT YOU IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE WAY," boomed a magically inhanced voice,no doubt the principal himself. The effect of the announcement was immediate. Hurried shuffling could be heard in the corridors as small feet rushed to the orientation hall. Damien and Neville joined the throng and were directed by an older prefect,wearing a blue colorful cloak,different from the rest of the students. Similar students wearing the same cloaks were evenly spread out throughout the school,directing new students to the orientation hall,which turned out to be a large domed building from where most of the school addresses took place.

The new students crowded in the hall, a large stage in front of them,all of the students of the academy standing.

"Welcome new students," said a short dwarven man," I'm Professor Groover. I will be taking you through your basic history of magic class. You will have the following classes to learn from: History of magic,magic embattlements,Basic mana creation and technical magic." His head swerved across the hall to see if there were any questions. There were none.

" You are expected to take these lessons seriously,as these will be the foundation of your future. You will be in one class,but you are to sit according to your alloted mage class throughout your tenure until you do your next test of intent.That is all,your respective dorm monitors will take it from here and take you through the school rules and activities. Your lessons begin tomorrow. You are dismissed!",he concluded. As if on cue,some older students started shepherding the students out of the hall and broke up the students into smaller groups. Neville stuck to Damien throughout the whole process,afraid of being apart from him. The bullies had pretty much traumatised him, it seemed,thought Damien.

After the full orientation, they went to the canteen for supper,where the rest of the school was now seated. The new students were placed on a large corner table that could accommodate all of them while a feast magically appeared before them. Various students passed by their table out of curiosity and regarded the fresh kids. Some casted kind eyes at them,some were obviously happy to have new meat to bully. Damien silently sighed,already tired of the bullying that was sure to inevitably come. His fear was more to do with his ability to control his intent when this happened. He shuddered at the casualties.

As they enjoyed the feast,their appetites were disturbed by a powerful presence. Everyone's eyes were desperately searching for the source of energy,Neville quickly seeking Damien's eyes,who shook his head that it wasn't him. The aura was controlled just enough to keep everyone seated but enough to be felt by everyone.

Three senior boys entered the canteen ,proudly walking to their table,their heads moving around to see if everyone noticed them. Damien was looking at them with a look of utter boredom,something that caught the eye of the leader.

He was immediately annoyed by the boy and changed directions to the first year's table. Everyone averted their eyes,afraid to provoke the seniors so soon on the very first day of school.

The senior approached Damien and snickered," What are you looking at,maggot?" Damien looked at the badge that bore the boy's name, Fewstar,it said.

" I'm talking to you,maggot. You should respect power and seniority here," said Fewstar.

"Hey,the little turd is the only D class mage in all of the school!", said his other cde,whose name was Cody.

"Yeah,Damien is it?," joined in the other boy,Silvester.

Neville gently nudged Damien under the table,a gentle reminder to let it go. Damien kept quiet.

" Listen here boy,we can protect you in this school. Without some kind of protection,with your level of mana,you won't last a week!".

Damien was saved from any reaction,for at that moment, a girl from the fourth-year students stood up.

"Why dont you pick on someone your size,Fewstar?", she said, approaching them. This girl had blonde hair and flawless olivine skin that shined in every light. She appeared to be twelve years of age,judged Damien.

"Awww cmon, Saline," complained Fewstar.

"We were just welcoming the new blood here,especially the weak one here," added Silvester.

"Let him be,you brutes,or you will have to answer to me. I can challenge you all to an official duel contract here and now if you want," said the girl called Saline. She then released a small pulse of energy that was specific to the three bullies.

The boys cowered and backed away,but not before casting a look at Damien,saying, without words,their intention to make him pay for the embarrassment. They promptly scooted to their table,everyone laughing at their expense and acted as if nothing had happened. The girl called Saline nodded in Damien's direction and returned to her seat,while Neville breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was soo praying you wouldn't splay their carcasses over my dinner, I was still eating you see," he joked

"The idea did cross my mind," he laughed," thank Deanna that pretty girl came to my rescue. Do you know her?"

"Nope,but I know this one thing for sure....she is way older than you bro."said Neville, winking at him wickedly.

Damien blushed and shifted his attention to his roasted potatoes,which had just refilled his plate.

Suddenly,he was looking forward to his time at this school...