There’s an Exam?

"I am going to just give a few short words to start us out before I let Xiang take over. My name is Amun, and it is to my great pleasure to welcome you all to Tolgahiniste. School for Magic and Metaphysics. I am delighted to see you all here from the hassle of starting on this embankment quest. As you may have noticed there are a few grounds to go to and many doors will be opened. There are a multitude of opportunities to join as you will discover over the next few weeks. I have found something in my six hundred short years at this institute: that you have entered a lively, challenging, and diverse community.

"Knowing that you all are here to learn is what makes us staff strive to push you forward. What is it that you 'strive' for? What is it that motivates you?" A brief hold as he looks across the room. I still could not believe that this was supposed to be Amun. Wasn't Amun usually depicted with a sheep's head and not more like Anubis?

"Hold those questions in your heart, so that you may never forget what brought you here today. You have come here to Tolga to gain what all of those before you sought. Knowledge. That is what the professors here are for. We were brought to help you inquire what makes you so special. What brings about the future you wish to make? Some of you will go on to make history in the realms you are from, for the betterment of themselves or for their communities."

This speech made the experience feel more like a true student's orientation. As he spoke though, he began walking back and forth. His body rising back into the air and where he walks there is a small puff sound barely heard.

"I want you to know that the entirety of Tolgahiniste's community is here to support, sustain, and encourage you as you commit to study at Tolga. It is you who makes us what we are. We look forward to those that make it through and what fresh ideas and energies you bring to our campus. I speak for the entire faculty, staff, and student body in saying that we are so happy you have come here in your decision. Some by choice, and others by circumstance. Welcome!" With the ending of the speech, he lowers himself down to the platform again and this time a tall man who is wearing something akin to a black trenchcoat. He has a dark olive skin tone. Almost pure black eyes and hair straightened back.

"As you have heard my name is Zai, but you may call me Professor Xiang." He scans the room a bit before stepping in front of the podium. "You may all think that you have what it takes. But some of you don't. I will throw that out there right now. I do not want you to feel that we will coddle you and promise you everything that you desire while you are here. Therefore you are here today and why you have been placed into such teams. We need to root out those that are capable of greatness. Even those that I have brought in may not be able to pass this simple task we are to give you." A flick of his hand and a roll of darkness blankets the room like the surf over the sand. When it passed over us, we all wore a mark like a tattoo on the back of our hands.

"That will come into play shortly, now some of your teams may end up with others to form a group. The tests may differ per group, but do not let your imaginations run wild. You will only know what your test will involve after you enter your respective areas. No one will be able to get hints just by watching or overhearing anything that is said when you come up here.

"When you are called up by your number, you will come up as a group and head to the door located along the walls there." He points towards the side of the room. Wherever he pointed to the walls receded forming doorways. Numbers began to line the tops of them from one on up to thirty-five. "This is a test; as I said, you will not get any information until you step inside because each testing room is different in the ruling. I expect each and every one of you to take advantage where you can. Watch and learn what you may, for no matter what happens in there, everyone has a fair shot of making the cut. Now we will begin. Numbers 1-3 come up to the front and grab your gear." He turned around having his trenchcoat swish back as the platform started to lower and the lights from between the dark panels along the ground grew brighter again to light the room.

The first students began to walk up and on they went to their respective doors. I looked down at my mark and it showed a bobcat head blazened onto my wrist as a tattoo. I saw everyone looking down at their bodies trying to find their marks. Eldria's seemed to just highlight her silver moon already on her cheekbone. Garthe had a symbol of an anvil on his collar while Halla had the symbol of a tree on the back of her hand. We each showed the others what we got, Zaya spoke up first though raising her sleeve to reveal a set skull and a pair of sails.

"Seems that we all have a long way to go and that this shows some of who we are. Seems we are going to be here for a while if we have to wait for our numbers, what else is new?" She rolled her eyes. "Did you see that professor though, the power emanating off him when he spoke. I would love to have him as part of my crew."

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, he did seem quite powerful to be able to set this whole thing in motion. I wonder what he teaches here?"

The time went on and every time a team went into the doorways, new panels lifted behind them to close. After twenty minutes or so the number on top of the first doors changed and opened back up. No one coming out. It seemed like hours went past in slow motion. We watched those around us and told stories. I told some mythos from back home. Halla was captivated laying down on the cold tile, her feet in the air kicking back and forth, her hands cupping her chin.

"What do you think the test is like?"Faulan stated before trying to see above some of the other students who were watching another team head into one of the testing rooms. "I wonder if ours will be a solo or a team test?"

"I don't know too much, but we should get ready for anything. Honestly, I would say that the early ones called are the ones with the disadvantage. In one aspect the teams that go in get to see what the test is like and experience it first. As for the later teams, they get to do what we are doing. Talk and explain ourselves along with our abilities before we go in. Teamwork is something that we need to have, but to do that we need to focus on what we know." I say peering over towards the front area where another team walking up struck out to me.

The one walking ahead of the others was tall, maybe around 7-8 feet tall. His copper skin glittered within the light as he walked past. His hair was braided down to the mid of his back. He was packing some serious muscle. His companions stood out just as much, one was wearing a long set of robes and looked a little like Eldria at first, the dark skin and purple lit eyes. He grabbed their things. The third was a dwarf of a woman with long hair tied up in a braid. She was wearing a metal plate male I swear. I mean if we could have weapons and everything, I guess that armor went as well. She stayed behind the other two. All three of them looked like trouble, or at least the type that found them.

Soon the time hits that Zaya's team is called up, "Hope to see you in class sometime." She just nods and leads the way.

I give a small smirk as she walks off with a stride of confidence. The other two follow right behind. We all just watch after them till they disappear into their testing room.

"They were a little odd." Halla remarked.

"Odd?"

"Yes," She smiled, "a good odd. Like us."

Sometimes I just did not understand this girl, so I just laughed, "Yes I suppose they are."

Finally, our time came, we got up to the front, Halla being the first one up in a hurry, she was given a pouch for each of us. Looking down to see an older male human, glasses sitting on the edge of his nose, light seafoam green eyes shone up at us. "Now be careful out there, you will have everything you need in these pouches, just don't do what some did last year and flip it inside out, once an item has been taken out, you cannot put it back in. Once inside the room you will see a pedestal. That will activate once you all place your hands on top of it. You will be transported into a new biome and from there you will find your task."

I arched my eyebrow wondering what this man was talking about and which professor he was before we were being ushered off towards our door. The number above it read 111. All the doors now had numbers in the third digits.

Stepping inside, the panels got a lot smaller, and I could barely see the other two once the walls shut behind us. This room was around a 20x20 ft room with a single pedestal as stated. The black obsidian style pedestal had runes lit up running down each side. Which only grew brighter when the doors fully shut. There were standing pads and a placement for our hands. I walk up towards it to check out the runes first. "Alright, shall we start this?"

Taking the lead, I place my hand on the placement. The standing pad lights up with a nice green color. Garthe and Halla follow my example and their pads light up the same color. A small line runs between each of them, creating what looks like a magic circle. The room gets warm and a bright flash forces me to close my eyes. The colors of the panels start to change and fade. First from black to white and then to blue. The tile underfoot begins to change into sand and all around us it seems that an entire strand of beach grew from nowhere.

Suddenly I feel the heat, as the sun's rays beat down overhead. Opening my eyes, I look around and see that we are indeed on a beach. Sand underfoot and the scent of salt in the air. A few coquina rocks divide the surf and the crop of trees further in. Not knowing how far they go I put my hands on my knees. I wanted to take a moment to yell out and jump into the surf. I always loved the beach since I was young, right now may not be the best time.

Halla and Garthe were instantly looking around at our surroundings. Halla ran towards the trees. "Oh!"

I hurry over, "What do you see, Halla??"

"A big mountain! Lots of Trees!" Her smile was as large as a banana which made me hungry thinking of the area.

Garthe nodded, putting his hand on my shoulder. "We should first try to locate anywhere that might provide protection from the elements. We do not know what lies in wait around here or what our test even is. They stated that it would all be clear when we made it here. Until then I say we should head towards the mountain. As stealthy as we can. We should check out our sacks as we go."

"I agree, we need to find food too, I am hungry as all heck." Not even trying to make light of the conversation, I was just really hungry.

I grab the sack with my number on it. It is plain and light, but they did say something about not emptying it. I reached my hand in and felt around. There is nothing here. I tried to think about what could be in here when I felt and grabbed a piece of paper. It was small and on one side it held a list while on the other stood an explanation:

'Hello and thank you for being here. Your group's test is survival. In this world there are many dangers lurking, the most dangerous being bad team harmony. Time flows differently in this pocket dimension so you will spend one week on this island. There are several safe points set up around, but your goal is not just to survive. On the third night each of your sacks will contain an item, a totem. To you all, they will count as 3 points each for a total of 9 points. Your group will need to have a minimum of 10 points to be able to pass. There are two other teams on this island. Each of their totems are worth 2 points. You will need to hold out and gather them as best you can. You may use any means to get them. Yet, even lethal means are okay, just know that if you are within the schools bounds and inside the places, we set up then death is but an experience. One not to get used to. On the last day there will be an event and if you can survive that then your team will win 8 points. Good luck.'

On the other side of the card read off a list of items:

'Inside you will have quite a few items, once you take one out of the bag you cannot put it back in. All you must do is think of the item and it will appear for you:

1 Antler from the Roe Deer

1 Pouch of Berries and other Rations

1 Count of Flint and Steel

1 Survival Knife

20 Feet of Abacá rope

1 Bow Drill

1 Roll of Filtrum

There was so little on the list I did not know what most of this could be used for. I need to think about this further. I decided to read aloud what the note said and the others pulled out ones from their own sacks. Halla's stated that it had a bucket and a net instead of the antler and a bow drill. Adversely, Garthe's said he had a mortar and pestle along with a 20-foot canvas tarp.

"For survival, the first step is finding some drinking water, then comes a safe place nearby for camp, and then a source of food which we can see on the way. You were right, Garthe." My thoughts were coming out to the others now.

Halla nodded, "I can be the one to help with food and water, I know the forests. Rivers hold fish. I have a net and bucket."

"Good, I want to go with Garthe up the mountain first. Let's follow together so that we can get a lay of the land to find that river." She seemed a little saddened at first, but the thought of separating when this is the first day wore on. She ended up agreeing.

We set off right away deeper into what should be the center of the island. The salt heavy in the air made our mouths dry faster than they should. There were sounds of bugs and other game life throughout the woods. Birds calling back and forth filling the time. A large sound came off to our right. Garthe went into a forward stance grabbing at his necklace. A small animal jumped out of the brush only to freeze. It was like a rabbit that had a small light green splotched coloration to it;s fur like it was dyed camouflage. It took off the moment Garthe started to release his hand.

"I am extra jumpy right now. The thought of just surviving in this place against 6 other folks is crazy. I have never fought anyone before. I just make the weapons and armor for other people to fight." Garthe shook his head before heading towards the front. "Halla, you seem light on your feet, you want to scout ahead?"

"Oh yes, that would be great. I will go and check for signs." What sort of signs she would look for I had no idea. We didn't find out; she just took off right after her statement.

Once alone Garthe's tone grew a little deeper since he was on edge. "Taki, look, there is a little something I can do. I know we need to talk about all our strengths and weaknesses before we can really look and act like a team. At least for the most part. You remember when we were being pulled up by the wind?"

I nodded, motioning towards his choker as we continued

"Yeah, well it is similar to a bloodline trait." He pulls his necklace up for me to see, stopping us for just a second. There were four charms all together. There was a pickaxe, a hammer, a sword, and the fourth one had a similar texture and looks like my own weapon. This looked like a miniature grinding wheel, maybe just a whetstone? "As long as we make it ourselves, we can condense something into this small piece you see. I can make these normal tools grow to be their real counterparts. I can only choose one of them and only bring it forth once a day right now. I am working on that, but that is what I have." He does not say anything about the stone.

I opened my mouth and just stood there a bit speechless for a moment. I had thought about where that came from and I had my suspicions, but still hearing it outright is another story. "I knew you were amazing Garthe, but this takes the cake. That means that we have more tools to work with now than the others. Yes, you used one earlier today, but that is fine. We have a week, or how long is a week here anyways?" I shake my head, "nevermind that is not important, you're going to have to show me that some time, but best keep it for now. While we walk, help me find some good tree limbs.

"We need to figure out exactly where we need to camp. Your note stated that you have a canvas sheet, right? Well, we can use that and my rope to create a makeshift tent using some trees. We should find some steady long rocks. Shale perhands for a spearhead." I was rambling a bit with some small memories flashing. That and I did not want to think about how useless I was without this sword at my belt. I did not even think about it much but having it on for hours just felt normal.

"You want to try and make some stone gear? A spear?" He raised his eyebrow in question.

"Yes and no, I want it long enough to get multiple edges, but I want it to be able to take abuse. Used for chopping small sticks and tree branches. Able to withstand the force of carving through the ground with it. Humans have some ingenuity."

"Yes, they do, but what brought them up?"

"Well, I mean come on… There's you, Halla, and then there is me. Just look at me?" Spins on my heels to open my arms to gesture to all of me. Garthe holds a stare of disbelief.

"I don't mean to be a stickler on racial identity, but what are you talking about?"

Just as confused as he looked; I was about to reply when Halla burst through the brush right next to us. I think I jumbled a good three feet from the ground. Garthe grabbed at his chest again, taking a few steps back.

"What is wrong with you two? You may as well have seen a Flrauelian Beast?" Her tone was light and not at all mocking.

"A what?!" My brow lifted in question.

"This large beast" She brings her arms up wide, "teeth the size of a femur, as sharp as any fine blade, and it stands around 7-feet tall." She jumps up to show the height. "We should hope that they are not native here."

"Let's hope not to see any of those. Ever." Garthe says with a light chuckle before looking at her with a gesture to forward. "So, what did you find up ahead?"

She squinted her eyes before hitting her head. "No, no, I know this." She turned around and around. "I forgot… Wait!" She stops and points towards us. " I saw a clearing nearby this pond. The water seems okay, if not rich. But it has a few weird markings around it. No fauna went within the boundaries of them from what I saw. It's around a 10-minute walk west." She points towards our right.

"So that means we are in the Northern part of the island heading south" Looking around I hold my chin in hand to think. "Halla, I want you to first lead us to this clearing and stay just ahead of us. While we head there, we need to keep an eye for any food. Berries, fruits, vegetables, small game. You said that you say some fauna, is it edible?"

She shrugs before nodding. "Yes, there were small creatures, they should be edible enough. I can catch one if you wish. Small creatures like me and I enjoy them."

I smile and nod. "Perfect. Let's move."

Without much talk after Halla led us straight to this quaint spot. Just as she said, there were these weird runes glowing a light reddish hue surrounding the pond and leading up a little way into a clearing large enough for ten people. The water had another set of runes. These were a light white color under the red clear water. There were plenty of fish and around the clearing we could see a few bushes with small purple berries.

"Okay this must be the safe spot that the note spoke of. Let's camp here for the time being." I say dropping some branches I took along the way here. Garthe nodded, doing the same. He took out the canvas and I started to form a plan. "I think we can survive no problem. We can think about the others tomorrow." They both smiled with confidence.