Rebirth: The Highland Academy of Magical Studies

As Aspen guided her through the buildings around them, Lux’s eyes met each of them in turn, trying to remember how they looked. Apparently all her things were in one of those rooms in one of those buildings… probably designated by male or female. Lux didn’t notice Aspen’s hesitancy, and simply followed the girl to wherever she was leading her. This academy didn’t look all that special… nothing out of the ordinary from the other schools the girl had seen.


Suddenly Aspen got an idea, realizing it might be back in this ‘hall’ place she referred to; where the room assignments had been posted in the first place. Lux only gave the girl an amused look as people would usually check there first…wouldn’t they? The girl made no comment though, following her as she led her the correct way, eventually finding a paper that had what Lux was looking for. When she was handed it her eyes scanned the paper, finding her name next to a “Vative” in room 301.


When she looked back up, she noticed Aspen looking back and fidgeted slightly, slightly nervous under the scrutiny. Eventually Aspen offered to show her to her room, and Lux nodded “Sure! I don’t mind the company” she notes. “Which one was the girl’s dorm again?” she wonders, heading out of the hall “Hmmm” she guesses, albeit correctly as she heads towards the building.
 
"really? oh thats great, this damn nose is really starting to sting!" he went along with Eleora "by the way, my name's Lucian, Lucian Riddle, and you are...?"


he hoped he wasn't being too forward, rushing into names and all.
 
Ayama smiled at this boy, the nose was unfortunate, but, it could easily have been worse. She wasn't going to tell him that, instead, she said, "I am Tabitha Ayama, but, you may refer to me as Ayama. It is pleasing to meet you, Lucian, that is a most unique name, where is it you hail from?" She then helped her roommate sit down. If the nurse wasn't here, she would simply go and find her.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Aphrodite sighed, then looked at Elle, "You are right, we will continue my training, but next time I'm sitting and focusing, please do not tackle me, even if I'm surrounded in fire. It cannot hurt me, for some reason." She knew why, but she would not tell. Not yet, not until she fully understood anyways.
 
Jace watched the girl named aphrodite "if you dont mind me asking, what is your powers?" he asks her curious about this girl as well. jace sat there he wast to chilly he


had let his power show just slightly enough to make the wind blow around him since one of his two powers was control over the wind. he watched her, she was a curious


girl in the eyes of jace, and he wanted to get to know her more as well as allessa. "you guys have already started training?" he asks.
 
Aphrodite sighed, and looked at the boy, she simply shook her head. She didn't want too many people to know. She'd rather have him find out in a class, she was simply to paranoid at times. This, was one of those times, but, she did say her name, "I am Aphrodite, and no, I do not control love."
 
Aspen followed Lux towards the girl's dorm, silently wondering how she had known which was the girl's. She just brushed it off, supposing she must have just gotten lucky. "So, what room are you in?" Aspen asked, her voice soft, as they approached the building. "I'm in 101," she offered. "So, did you know you were a witch your whole life?" she asked, peering over at Lux. Aspen was talking much more than usual but she had so many questions bouncing around in her head and that one was the least intrusive. Plus, all of her other questions would be pointless if the girl, like her, hadn't known she was magical until not too long ago.


A slight ache appeared in Aspen's chest as she thought about home and how her parents reacted to finding out she was "different". Her parents never approved of anything out of the ordinary which made it that much harder for her. She managed, though.


Aspen was pulled out of her thoughts as they entered the dorm building. There wasn't much more activity here than when she left.
 
Jace was a little confused now, he said nothing about love. "nice to meet you" he stated "well id better go it was nice meeting you ladies" he stood up and bowed to them then turn and left. Heading back to the dorm he noticed his roomate and his nose so he ran to him "hey buddy, what happened to you?" he asked then noticed the girl with him "oh sorry to interrupt im his roomate, jace, its nice to meet you" he stated then looked back at his buddy "what happened?" he asked concered about his roomate.
 
Ellessa continued to stare at this 'Jace's' hair for a few moments longer before letting her curiosity of it's strangeness leave her mind.


"I have to ask though, why do they prefer women?" He asked in a very curious tone.


"It is simply tradition. The Ashuran that originally defeated the demon Vishar with but a single blow of this very blade nine hundred forty years ago was female. All those with the potential to be Ashuran that exist today are directly related to her. We honor the memory of her deed and thank her for the structure she brought to our household by appointing one of her 'daughter's' as house lead." Ellessa said in an almost matter-of-factly tone.


"...even if I'm surrounded in fire. It cannot hurt me for some reason." Aphrodite said after a sigh.


"...I am truly sorry." Ellessa said while bowing deeply, placing her freshly burned hand underneath the one that had not been to hide it. "...I had forgotten of your mastery over the flame. I simply desired to rescue my only friend."


"You guys have already started training?" the boy with the odd hair asked.


Ellessa rose from her bow gracefully, simultaneously hiding her hand behind her. "Formal class's here at the school have not yet begun, however everyday is training. In her particular case, I am teaching her to use a weapon...Spiritual training shall be conducted by those more adept at it than I." Ellessa said, her voice still carrying the almost matter-of-factly tone from earlier.


The unnatural movement of the winds were almost immediately apparent to Ellessa, long before they turned to flow about Jace. "An attack? ...no...a demonstration." She thought to herself suddenly as her burned right hand shot up to the hilt of Vishar on sheer reflex. It had been countless time's that her Grandfather would initiate training with a lethal attack while she slept. It was said that the first Ashuran blocked the mighty punch of the demon Vishar did so in her sleep, and was required of all Ashuran since.


Her hand grabbed at Vishar's hilt even as it dawned on her that this was merely a demonstration, sending a wave of agonizing pain down her arm. She winced lightly before immediately letting go and returning to hiding her hand. "Excuse me" She said while bowing quickly and politely, and tried to make her way past the two into the dorm building. "If I had just entered earlier....I could have applied an ointment to lessen the pain. What a bad impression Grandfather. I make the Ashuran look to be but fools and novices..."
 
Aphrodite allowed her to go to the dorm, and then followed her, she was going to her room, not to wherever Ellessa was going, unless it was also her room. She sighed. The world was a confusing place. "Hey, Elle, do you ever watch movies?" Was her out of the blue question.
 
Ellessa, once inside the dorm building gazed down into her heavily reddened hand. It was starting to hurt just by opening and closing it...she had neglected to treat it for too long but it still didn't look as if it would pose any permanent damage. Looking up at the giggling mob of other girls that had congregated outside their own personal dorm room's, Ellessa again placed her hand behind her and started upwards. As she started to make her way through, Aphrodite started in as well, prompting her to quickly place her hand in front of her again, walking oddly as she covered her burned palm with her other hand. She was absolutely intent on not allowing her to see and possibly setting her off again for something that was not even her fault.


"Hey Elle, do you ever watch movies?" Aphrodite suddenly asked as they were nearing their shared dorm quarters.


"Movies? I have only seen the two my Grandfather brought back with him on one of his many journeys.." Ellessa said with no small bit of excitement. "Are movies a common thing in this realm? Perhaps this is where Grandfather found them?"


"One was called Yojimbo, and the other Sanjuro...Grandfather told me that they were made by a thousand tiny portraits, was that true? Are there more? Where might I find them if there are? Who is patient and skilled enough to make such portraits?" Ellessa asked in quick succession, barely remembering to breath.


When the two had arrived, Ellessa instinctively began reaching for the handle to hold it open for the two of them, but caught herself and switched to her left hand, hiding the right behind the door.
 
Aphrodite looked at Ellessa in a blank manor. She had never heard of these movies. Little portraits? Good thing she had a camera.


"Your grandfather is a smart man, but, here is how one makes a movie," Aphrodite said, pulling out her camcorder, and filming Ellessa for a second, and then showed her what her actions where. Hopefully she doesn't smack it from my hand saying it is evil magic. . . She then said this, ""There are multiple movies, and, I have never seen those."
 
Ellessa looked in aww at the tiny mechanism in Aphrodite's hand's. "What sort of mysticism could bring such a device to bear? There is no reel, or light source like Grandfathers...and most notably that was ME just a few moment's before, almost as if I were looking at my reflection in a crystal clear lake but a few seconds late."


"Incredible....How is such a thing....I mean...that's ME. How can i be there...?"


Ellessa reached out for the device slowly, running her finger across the screen. It was only the sharp pain that snapped her free of her thoughts. She quickly pulled her hand back, hoping that she hadn't seen, but knowing that that thought was unlikely.


"After you.." She said quickly, still holding the door open for her roommate
 
"You really should get your hand looked at," Aphrodite said, walking into the dorm. She figured that Ellessa would react like that. Aphrodite got into her bags, and took out a book. She plopped on her bed, pulling out her iPod, and putting her earbuds in. She then started a song, and began to read. Everything around her was lost as she basically went into the book she was reading.
 
Ellessa nodded weakly as she entered the room behind Aphrodite. She had somehow thought her reaction would have been more negative towards her burned hand...Thought that maybe she would confuse herself as the cause, thinking that she herself had burned her when she jumped through the flame after her. Ellessa was somewhat relieved...and yet a bit deflated.


Walking slowly over towards her portion of the large room, Ellessa fished out her first aid pack's and carefully applied her burn ointments. "I should have been more careful...I just cant seem to control it Grandfather. Anytime I allow my emotions to overcome me and sink into the depths of despair, the fire claims another part of me. Will I only be able to control it after it claims my heart from me? But then, how does one steel themselves from their own emotion and still feel protective of their village?" Ellessa thought as the creams she had created did it's work soothing the pain in her hand.


Coating a stretch of her soft, home made bandages, Ellessa wrapped up her hand for a more long term care and exited her room. She took a moment to glance at Aphrodite's door before making her way to the large window in the shared area of the room. After flexing her hand a couple of times to make sure it had been properly sealed, Ellessa opened the window to the cool night air and gazed out at the wood's.


The leaves of the forest swayed gently in the breeze, almost like the ebb and flow of water. "How could a place with so much the same...be so very different." she mused to herself as she looked out to the sea of green. "Even right down to the people. We are both human, both female, both appeared around the same age...and yet our lives were so very different. I understand why you were always gone so long Grandfather...In a world so full of wonder, it is incredibly you ever managed to return to us"


Ellessa clutched to the diamond knotted rope of Vishar's sheath tightly and placed a foot upon the sill of the window. She again looked back at Aphrodite's door, not sure what to make of her mixed emotions about their last talk. "One moment, she's asking me about marvelous invention of moving portraits, and the next she acts as if we had only just met in passing..." Ellessa thought solemnly to herself. "Well, when you think about it...we did only just meet this morning. It somehow felt like so much longer....or perhaps that feeling is not shared... In any case, I suppose I should leave her to her own devices..."


In one swift motion, Ellessa allowed the power's of wind to pass through her form and jumped free of the window. While her grandfather was capable of full flight in his wind style, Ellessa was only JUST capable of slowing her falls, and even then she couldn't fall from any further than a couple of stories.


She landed deftly on the dirt path, and gracefully made her way back towards the woods. She had not counted her steps throughout much of the day, and Ellessa was determined to memorize as much of the layout of the school as possible.


"One, Two, Three..."
 
"I am Eroria Sheol," she told Lucian. She looked him up and down, as if trying to get a sense of who he was. She then turned away. The blood from his nose was distracting and Eroria wasn't all that good with lots of blood. She wanted to ask how he managed to break his nose on the first day, but decided not. She didn't really want to share how she twisted her ankle. Falling down stairs because she wasn't paying attention wasn't exactly some impressive war story. Maybe he had a silly reason as well.


"It's nice to meet you. Do you think you'll be okay? That's an awful lot of blood. You aren't going to faint from blood lost are you?"


Eroria looked back over at him as she asked. She hope that if that was the case they'd be near to the nurse's office. She wondered how close they were now. Her ankle hurt slightly in a dull pain.
 
"hmm? no no, its kinda like when you cut your lip, looks like a lot of blood but its not really that bad... i was looking around and when i was coming out of the gym, this HUGE girl, i'm not talking fat but i mean, like an "amazon", she swung the door open right into my face, really hurt too... uhh, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your ankle?"


as he spoke, he pulled out a small tissue and rolled it up, sticking it up his nose to help plug the holes and stop him from bleeding all over himself.
 
Jace shrugged "nothing" he couldnt help but laugh "sorry this aint funny i know, so you heading to the nurse?" he asks watching him and shaking his head "you know lucian, thats a lot of blood" he stated "need me to walk you to nurse?" he asks trying to be a good friend and roomate "also sorry for ditching you earlier" he stated "hope u aint mad buddy" he stated.
 
"if you wanna, i'm good either way" replied Lucian to Jace, adjusting the tissue up his nose, walking with the others.
 
Seeing lucian with the group, he knew he was ok and didnt need his help so jace made his way to the nurses office on his own to check it out. The breeze was still blowing and starting to really chill him to the bones so he hurried to the nurses office. Finally arriving at the nurses office, he looked around inside there hoping they dont mind, he just wanted to get a feel for everythign and see it all. seeing another one of the first years who looked rather beat up, he walked to her "wow, what happened to you?" he asked curiously and a little concerned about the young girl.
 
Resmion still checking out all of the entire building, reading the first volume of "All About Mantras". "So, Mantras are like enhancement spells," Resmion said, while reading the book but not so loud that the entire school could hear him. He did have to watch where he was going before he bumps into someone or something. "Now where should I go next?," He thought to himself.
 
"...678, 679, 680, 681" Ellessa mentally recounted, stopping as she finally made it to the tree line of the forest. A light howl rang out into the night's air from deeper within as the moon shined down brilliantly upon her. It was a night not unlike this one that Ellessa had first become an Ashuran and passed the test of wind.


There had been a slight breeze coursing through the trees of forest near her home. Grandfather had called her out into a large thicket of bamboo for a special training session. Lured by the chance to move that much closer to becoming the leader the Yu'ul clan needed, she eagerly packed her bokken and placed a set of weights upon her arms and legs. Just the running there had been draining, but she dared not deny the order's given to her by her Grandfather.


She would never forget the view of the Hardie symbol upon his back of his traditional Yakuta, or the deep sensation of malevolence she felt upon the air.


"Grandfather...?" She called out to his back while stepping tentatively forward. This was so very different from her typical training sessions with him.


She looked up from the thicket, not a single cloud was in the sky. The moon hung low in the heaven's casting it's empyrean light down upon the wood's as if spot lighting some great event.


Ellessa, finally remembering her rudeness, bowed politely to her Grandfather's back. It was not a moment too soon...a bright glint of blue screamed through where her neck had been but moments before. A dull beating sound pounded into the night, the sound of numerous lines of bamboo falling to the ground. The had been cut cleanly, the tips of their wounds glowing in a pale blue flame that quickly surrounded the thicket. "What was this...Grandfather?!"


Without a single word, he brought the noble blade Vishar down upon her as a clever, forcing Ellessa to lunge to the side nearly crossing the flames she knew to be instant death. He was definitely trying to kill her...but why...?


After barely dodging numerous blows, she could see the evidence that she had been far outmatched in almost every respect. He was Stronger than her, more skilled than her, better armed than her. About the only thing she had was her youth, and the speed that came with it. If only she were just a bit faster....


Ellessa ducked under another deadly stroke, meant to decapitate but was just a bit too wide. "This is my chance!" She mentally shouted as she lunged forward. Her grandfather began to pull in his elbow, he would run her through with a straight thrust if she didn't make it in time. Ellessa pushed herself to her absolute limits as the world seemed to all but slow down. The leaves that had been falling seemed to all but halt in mid-air. The stray stalks of bamboo that had been cut in his most recent attack made slow arcs towards the ground. Ellessa tattoo's had flared to life upon her skin in a flash more bright then she had ever since been capable of achieving.


She stepped in quickly, not understanding why her grandfather had seemed to stop trying, but not willing to allow this opportunity to slip away. Grabbing at his arm, she rolled behind him in the way he had personally taught her countless times in the past, and ran the sword through him from behind with a loud primal scream, just barely missing his vitals in the progress.


Yes....tonight was not unlike the night that she had first become an Ashuran and earned both the demon slaying sword Vishar, and the title of Hardie. Ellessa gazed up at the low hanging full moon as she stepped into the forest to begin yet another session of training, wanting to ensure the Hardie name had a strong showing when school was finally in session. She would never forget her Grandfather's kindness in giving her such a fruitful training session.
 
Anya sat upright on her bed, legs crossed and cheeks puffed out. Whoever her room mate was, she was late. Like really late. Although her image probably didn't indicate it, punctuality was important to her. She refused to wait any longer because it was nearing time fir her and Gray to meet. Plus she was just bored. Jumping off the bed, she pondered how she'd make her grand entrance into the world. Doors were too mundane and instead went over to her window. Opening it, she judged the distance from the sill to the nearest tree. It was only the second floor so she could even just go straight for the ground if she timed it right. Nah. Not enough time for that. "Leeroy Jenkins!" she yelled before jumping out the window and heading straight for the ground. She landed on her bottom and though it smarted greatly, she didn't think anything serious happened.


Walking down the path towards the fork that separated the ways to the boy and girl dormitories, she froze in realization. She and Gray had never actually decided on a meeting place, did they? F . . . After a few minutes of walking and thinking, she sat on the grass by the fork in the path. It was close enough that Gray shouldn't get lost, plus he'd have to come by here eventually too, right?
 
As smoke filled the room, Constantine chuckled. It was a cute method, he supposed, not exactly effective, but cute all the same. Taking the chain in his hand, swinging the ball at the end slightly, he waited. No reason for him to over extend himself when the brat would slip up soon anyway. Besides, libraries were quiet places, you made a loud enough noise and it would echo all over the place, pin pointing exactly where you were.


---


Looking up as someone spoke to her, Cyr fumbled a little bit, the ice pack suddenly becoming an awkward thing to hold. Readjusting her grip on it, she tried to ignore the fact her face was burning on the same level the purple stuff was. Embarrassment was something she was far from being used to, especially in a state like this. "Uh...just a couple of older kids who wanted to, uh, cause some trouble..."
 
Jace nods and walks closer "mind if i sit here?" he asked pointing at the chair next to her. "so hows the other person look?" He felt sorry for her, she looked like she is in pain and the bruises looked to be sore and painfull for sure making jace wish he could do something to help. "so what happened, why they go after you?" he asks her curiously just trying to figure out what happened "anything i can do to help you?" jace asked with a comforting smile.
 
"I don't mind." She said softly, trying to avoid eye contact. As he pried for more information, she caught the nurse that had taken care of her looking over. She was already less than happy another first year knew what had happened and she would be damned if she was going to willingly tell another. "Well, drenched in water, I would hope, but I don't really know why they picked me, probably because I was the only one around at the time. And, I, uh, I don't really know if there's anything to help with..."
 
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