Realm of Monsters

Stryg left the classroom and went to his dorm room. He ignored the looks of the few he passed by. Once he arrived, he took a few moments to admire the room. It may have been tiny, but it was his. It was the first room that he could call his own. This was still his fresh start no matter what others thought of him. But this time, he wouldn’t strive to gain their approval. This time, he’d work hard for his own benefit. He had no tribe here, he was alone, and it was time he began to act that way. He rummaged through his small trunk, until he found a towel, a bar of soap, and a fresh set of clothes. After reading the map, Stryg tried making his way to the academy baths, it took him over an hour to find it. There were two doors leading to the baths, male and female. A bored dwarf stood in between on a tall podium. The dwarf glanced at Stryg, looked away, and whipped his head back. 

“Woah, a goblin student. You must be new, I’ve never seen you before,” the dwarf blurted out.

“Are there any other goblin students here?” Stryg asked.

The dwarf shook his head, “You are the first I have ever seen or heard of. This place must be pretty strange to a commoner like you. The door to my right is for the males.”

Stryg had already walked past him into the male baths. There had been a sign above the door, it had been obvious. People kept assuming he was a commoner and that he couldn’t read. He guessed most commoners were unable to. Stryg was honestly glad his literacy had become so useful. Back home it had only served as fuel for his mockery. But here, Stryg had been able to use a map to find his way through the maze of buildings that was the magic academy. 

The baths consisted of a large white room with tiled flooring. Small cubicles made of opaque glass lined the walls. A few were occupied, with a faint silhouette appearing through the glass, and steam rising from above. Stryg slowed his steps as he observed the strange room. He had never seen anything like it. The drow captain, Rorik, had praised the baths of the martial academy, saying that no bath quite compared. Stryg hoped these baths were the same. 

Stryg made his way to one of the empty open cubicles. He stepped inside and closed the door behind. A small metal latch locked tight. This whole place already seemed magical to the goblin. A couple of metal hooks hung from the side. Stryg stripped and tried hanging his dirty and new clothes on the hook, but they were too high. He would have thought the academy just wasn’t accustomed to accommodating goblins, but dwarves were just as small and he had seen several roaming through campus, including that redhead dwarf. Stryg had thought she was quite cute, though that didn’t matter much. She had made it clear in no uncertain terms her dislike for him. He shook his head, she didn’t matter, none of them did. All he needed to do was focus on excelling in his classes. He needed to become a mage and that started with taking a bath.

Stryg jumped to reach the hooks. He overshot by an entire two feet, almost missing the hooks all together. He landed softly on his feet, amazed by his feat. He hadn’t known he was able to jump so high. For the first time in his life Stryg felt that his daily exercises had begun to pay off. To larger beings such as humans or drow, the jump would have seemed mundane, but Stryg couldn’t be happier. That is, until he turned the metal knob on the wall. He had barely turned it before freezing cold water pelted him from above. The shower nozzle sprayed him mercilessly. He felt he was back in the river near his village. The frost water chilled him to the bone. This is why he hated taking showers and rarely made the time for them. 

Stryg grumbled to himself as he scrubbed his whole body with the soap bar. He would have already gotten out under normal circumstances, but he was filthy and reeked. He had decided that he wouldn’t focus his time on making friends, but it didn’t mean he wanted to make unnecessary enemies, well except for that dwarf girl, their dislike for each other was mutual. Being foul smelling definitely hadn’t helped in trying not to stand out. He needed to try to maintain himself clean. He shouted with spirit as he continued scrubbing until his skin was raw. This isn’t enough, more water! Stryg braced himself. He turned the knob all the way, only to have the water warm up. Hot water poured down on him as he shook in frustration. 

Of course the water can become hot, he thought angrily. 

He had seen steam coming out of several other cubicles. He had just been too stupid to put one and two together. The experiences of the past few days rained on his mind, his failures at being unable to adapt to be good enough for those around, weighed on him. He couldn’t even take a shower right. 

After a few minutes his sour mood gave away to the hot water soothing his sore muscles. Had he had water like this back in the village he would have taken showers all the time. Once his skin had begun to wrinkle he reluctantly turned off the water and dried his body. He put his towel on his shoulders and walked out of the cubicle. 

A few men who were coming in and out of the baths stared at him and laughed. Stryg didn’t understand why, until he noticed they were all wearing clothes, even the ones with wet hair. He sighed, it seemed people here put their clothes on right after their baths. They didn’t let their bodies be air dried first, like sensible folk. Dejected, Stryg went back into the cubicle. He had lost count of how many failures he had made today.

After the whole bath affair, Stryg made his way to the library, which of course was almost as difficult as finding the baths. Of all the places he had visited so far, the library was perhaps the one that gave Stryg most pause. Large polarized windows adorned the high walls, only surpassed by the mahogany shelves that covered the entire domed building. Students appeared from one shelf only to disappear behind another stack of books. The place was a maze of bookshelves. He was lucky that the librarian’s desk was only a few feet from the door. Stryg was afraid that even with the survival skills he had honed throughout his life, he wouldn’t have been able to find her otherwise. 

The old drow smiled as Stryg’s head popped into view from the edge of the towering desk. “Hello there, young one.”

Stryg craned his neck up as far as he could, “Hello. I am a first-year and I was told that I could pick up my text books here… Is this the right place?”

“Why yes, it is. We still have a few stacks left. They are right over here.” The librarian led him to a table only a few paces away. A few tall stacks of books sat on top. “They are all the same, pick whichever you like.”

Stryg thanked her, grabbed one of the stacks, which of course blinded his line of sight, and proceeded to wobble his way back to his dorm. Thankfully, he encountered only a few others on his way back. A few giggled, but most simply ignored him. He threw his books on the bed and sat on the ground, leaning back on the wall. He opened his map of the academy and began to study it. He wouldn’t let himself be lost or late again. He needed to learn where all his classes were by memory. But first, he had to try to figure out where the cafeteria was. 

---

Kithina woke early the next morning. Her first day at the academy hadn’t gone very well, but today would be different. She was determined to make the best of her time here. The first class of the day was a physical conditioning course. The curriculum was the same for all first-years, so she needed to try and make a good impression with her classmates. Kithina remembered the way she had treated the young goblin yesterday, a pang of guilt shot through her, but she shook her head and ignored it.

Focus, she repeated to herself like a mantra.

She wanted to arrive early to class, fortunately she had already taken a shower last night which helped save her some time. She opened the little trunk the academy had provided and pulled out a small wooden box her mother gifted her for her eighteenth birthday. Inside was a makeup kit. Her mother had worked hard saving enough money to buy it. Kithina wouldn’t let it go to waste. Appearances and first impressions were very important. After applying the makeup, getting her unruly red curls under control, and putting on a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt she headed out. 

Kithina walked onto the green grass of the academy’s field. She was surprised there was such an enormous open field in the city. Then again as a commoner, she had never been allowed into most districts. The sun was barely beginning to creep over the horizon. A tall, pretty orc, wearing a black mage robe, stood alone in the middle of the field. The sunlight glinted off a jasper and amber stone hanging from the woman’s necklace. 

That must be the professor, Kithina thought.

Kithina jogged over to the wide track sprawled over the field. As she came close, she spotted a small crouched figure behind the orc mage. She halted in her steps as the young cyan goblin looked up at her. Kithina thought she had arrived first, but it had been the goblin instead. It seemed he had taken her advice of taking classes seriously to heart. She wasn’t sure how she should feel about that, or what she should even say. She had been rude to him when he hadn’t been to her. She had overreacted yesterday. 

Kithina sighed, I had better apologize. But, he had already looked away and continued fiddling with his shoes. 

Stryg never had shoes with laces before. When he had heard he needed to bring the pair to several of his classes he didn’t think much of it, until he tried to tie them. They had proven more of a hassle then he had thought. The pretty yet rude dwarf strolled up to him. 

The dwarf stood right next to him, “Hey, about yesterday. I-”

Stryg stood up, turned his back to her and walked away. He didn’t care to listen to more insults. He had experienced enough growing up, thank you very much. He crouched back down a few feet away and tried to figure out the puzzle that was his shoes.

Kithina scowled at the goblin’s disregard. She supposed in a way she deserved it, but it didn’t make the snub feel any better. The goblin continued messing with his shoes. After a moment she realized he didn’t know how to tie his laces. 

“That’s not how you do it,” she smirked.

Stryg dismissed her words. She may have been trying to assert her authority over him with her knowledge of shoe tying but he wouldn’t let her. About 15 minutes later the rest of the class trickled onto the field. Stryg had eventually given up with the laces and had tucked them into his shoes. Thankfully, the dwarf had left him alone and was chatting with the teacher. 

“19, 20, 21. Perfect, all class 1-C is here,” The orc mage announced as she looked around the group. Most of the students looked bleary-eyed, not accustomed to waking up this early.

“My name is Tauri of house Katag. I’m the professor of physical education at the magic academy of Hollow Shade,” she announced with a sense of pride. “I will be teaching you all physical conditioning this year. Before I start class I just wanted to let you know to feel free to ask me any questions about the lecture. I’m more than happy to answer,” Tauri smiled. 

Everyone nodded in understanding. She was an orc, but she already seemed far kinder than the drow professor from yesterday, Stryg felt. 

“Many of you come from middle or high-class backgrounds, the cushy life you might say. I don’t expect the majority of you have had physically demanding tasks thrust upon you at any point in your lives. Even the ones who come from more humble backgrounds aren’t ordinarily forced to push their bodies to their physical limits. This class will challenge you all physically and mentally.”

Stryg’s pointed ears perked up at the Tauri’s mention of a challenge. Stryg would rise to this challenge. He took a deep breath, the time for failures was over, he hoped. 

“Even a vampire won’t have an easy time in this class,” Tauri said.

Stryg raised his hand.

“Yes, you. State your name and feel free to ask your question. Don’t be afraid to speak up,” Tauri said.

Stryg frowned, he wasn’t afraid. Clearly he had been wrong about his earlier assessment of this woman. He dismissed the slight and went ahead, “I am Stryg. Prof. Tauri, what exactly are vampires?”

Kithina groaned, that was his question?  How ignorant was this goblin? 

“Vampires are a species. Callum is a vampire,” Kithina smiled over at the young vampire.

Callum looked away awkwardly. Kithina’s smile fell.

Tauri nodded in approval, “Correct. Kithina, right? Vampires are a chromatic species, known for their physical abilities and longevity, among other things.”

“Callum Veres isn’t a vampire though,” A tall, broad shouldered student spoke. 

“And you are?” Tauri asked.

“Clypeus of house Gale, an actual vampire.” The student bowed, his hand over his heart. “Pleasure to officially meet you. As I was saying, Callum is not a vampire, he’s the mongrel of the Veres family.”

Callum glared at Clypeus, but held his tongue. Kithina looked at him, unsure of what to say.

Tauri laughed, “Oh, you mean he’s a hybrid. Yeah, we have plenty of them here at the academy. Nothing to bark about. It doesn’t matter if you’re a vampire, dwarf, orc, or whatever mix. You’re all still going to be hurting by the end of this class.” 

Clypeus looked dismayed. Callum smiled. Kithina was worried. Stryg was just frustrated, now he had to figure out what a hybrid was.