Touch of Fate

Tal, Brenden, and Sera were sitting in the lobby of the University's Administration Building. The furnishings were clean and comfortable, and it was unclear how long Mike was going to take, so they settled in for a long wait.

The lobby was nearly deserted. Besides the three of them, the only other occupants were a young woman with a fussy baby, sitting a little ways away.

"I hope everything goes alright," Sera was saying, "it would be a shame to come all this way and screw up on the entrance exam."

"Not worried." Tal replied with monotone confidence.

Brenden just nodded his agreement with the elf's statement.

[I suppose it's a little hard to imagine Mike not having enough magical talent to get accepted. The real problem is whether or not he does something outrageous which causes problems for him later on.]

The young woman with the baby stood up and approached hesitantly. "Excuse me, but are you with a prospective student as well?"

"We are…" Sera replied slowly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just that my husband is undergoing the entrance exam as well, and I'm have to admit I'm very worried." Sera saw the woman's arms trembling a little, and taking a longer look noticed her pale face, slightly sunken cheeks, and the raggedness of her clothes.

[I'm a little surprised to see people like this here, but I guess her husband is pursuing a scholarship.]

Giving the woman a warm smile, she patted the seat next to her. "Please, have a seat. What's your names?"

"Thank you. I'm Mariah, and this is Norman." She sat down and situated the child in her arms a little more comfortably, before glancing around at the group a little curiously. "I don't mean to be rude, but is your prospective student aiming for a scholarship?"

"No, he's actually here with a letter of recommendation."

Mariah sighed in relief, before realizing how that must look, "Sorry, my John is quite talented, but I know that the competition for a Finance Department scholarship is quite fierce, so I can't help but feel relieved."

Brenden chuckled, "I doubt Mike would me much of a competitor for something like finance. His talents are a bit more…direct."

"Oh! Is Mike the name of your prospective student?" Once again looking around the group, Mariah frowned, "Is he your...…are you…."

Guessing the intent of her question, Sera cut her off. "We're friends and adventuring companions."

"I see. If you don't mind me asking, what department is your prospective student aiming for?"

"Magic Department." Tal explained simply.

"Oh wow! I don't know any mages. It must be so exciting to be able to do magic. But aren't you worried he will have trouble with the test? I've heard they can be pretty strict about it."

Almost as if to answer her question, a rumbling vibration shook the building, causing the woman to look around in panic.

"Passed probably." Tal spoke when it stopped.

Sera face palmed. "I knew he was going to go overboard. I should have warned him about it before he left."

"You should have known better. If there is one thing I've learned about Mike, it's that anything that should be simple, gets crazy when he's involved." Brenden cut in sarcastically while shaking his head.

Mariah looked at them apprehensively, as if now regretting making their acquaintance.

----------------------------------------------------

"That was awesome!" Henry called from his seat near the door of the circular chamber.

Mike could hear the click of teeth as Instructor Thomas's mouth snapped shut.

He spoke with a feigned confidence, but it was clear that he was a bit shaken. "It seems you have a great deal of raw talent, judging from the amount power you were able to produce. However, your chanting leaves much to be desired. I heard several mispronunciations, and frankly, I was surprised to see the spell take effect at all."

He turned to look at the other teachers, "Well, judges, what is your verdict?"

The old man with the white stripes stepped forward, "The young man is unrefined, but has a great deal of potential. With the right instruction, he could be a truly powerful mage. I say admit him.

The old woman with the white stripes was next, "Such power can be dangerous, especially when it is so poorly controlled. He would be better off seeking training with the Mage's Guild. They have the resources and techniques to restrict a young mages power until it can be safely wielded. That said, I have rarely seen such raw power from an applicant, and I would be loathed to let those pretentious assholes in the Guild get their grubby hands on him. So, I say admit him."

[I'm not sure how I should feel about that, but I suppose professional jealousy is a universal trait.]

Finally, the old man with the red and blue stripes spoke up, "Don't suppose it matter much now, but I say let him in. I'm looking forward to seeing what he blows up next. May I suggest the statue of Horace the Humble in the northwestern garden? I know he donated a large sum to the University, but I've rarely seen stone subjected to such torment as to be carved in his likeness."

The other three instructors shot him a stern look of disapproval that he promptly ignored.

Thomas finally clear his throat, and spoke to Mike without the hints of disdain from before. "Congratulations, young man. You have passed the admission test for the Magic Department of the University of Almirn. Henry will handle your initial paperwork and get you situated."

With that, he led the instructors back upstairs.

"Come on," Henry called. "I've got a few things for you."

Mike followed the red-headed young man back up to the foyer of the building. Henry pulled a few papers out of his desk, jotted a few things down with a quill that didn't seem to need ink, and stamped them. He hand three pieces of paper to him, while explaining each of them.

"This is an acceptance notification. You need to take it over to the Administration Building for processing. They'll handle your housing situation too. This is your department approval letter. Simply bring this back with you two days from now at four bells, and the office here will help you get your schedule set up. Finally, this is your student access request form. You need to take this to the Security Office behind the Administration Building to get your identification ring. Do you have any questions?"

"Would you mind explaining the four bells things? Also, after I turn these two documents in, is there anything I should be doing before coming back here in two days?" He asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

Nodding Henry rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry about that, I forget that not everywhere has a clock tower like here in the Old City. The tower will ring a series of bells to help tell time. Every bell means two hours, so four bells would be the eighth hour after midnight."

"Makes sense." Now that Mike thought about it, he vaguely recalled hearing some distant ringing noises while they were crossing The Span, but he didn't really think about it then.

"As to your other question, I would recommend taking the time to get settled in and familiar with the University. It wouldn't hurt to do some exploring of the city, but that's really up to you. Anyway, you came at a good time, since the another round of classes is starting next week, so you don't have to wait long before you jump into your studies."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for your help."

"My pleasure. Now that I think about it, I don't think we've been officially introduced. Henry Malmstine," He said while offering his hand to Mike, "I'm a third year in Arcane Studies."

"Call me Mike. Nice to meet you."

As a reflex, Mike used Appraise on the student, confirming the introduction.

---------------------------

Henry Malmstine

Age: 21

Race: Human

Class: Apprentice Arcanist

Title: None

-----------------------------

[Nothing too out of the ordinary there.] He thought while shaking the man's hand.

"I'll keep an eye out for you on campus." Henry called when Mike left.

Mike traveled back to the Administration Building and turned in the first of his documents. In return he was given a form to take to the dormitory for room allocation. He picked up the other three, who seemed to have made an acquaintance with a pregnant woman in the lobby. She seemed nice enough, but he got the impression she was afraid of him for some reason.

He led the group over to the Security Office to get identification rings. They turned out to be bands of carved, silver metal that were keyed to each persons mana signatures. The front gates of the school had inbuilt magical devices which scanned people entering and leaving for the presence of one of the rings. Mike's was a little more advanced, since it allowed him entry into certain school facilities.

Traveling back across the campus, they entered main office of the section of the dormitory section of the University.

After turning in the housing form to an elderly man who was nearly deaf, he was directed to building referred to as the Lighthouse Dormitory. As the second closest school building to the ocean, it proved easy enough to find. It was an older, but still in good repair. Standing four stories tall, it gave the appearance of a stately manor in the country.

The trademark lighthouse was a little farther north, standing along a jagged cliff that overlooked the ocean. Its signal light was not yet active, since it was still bright outside, but Mike wondered idly, what sort of method they used to create the light. It would have to be magical in nature.

"So this is going to be our home for awhile. Not too bad, right?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at the others.

Any response was interrupted, however, when a portion of the highest floor of the dorm exploded.

After taking a few moments to control himself, Mike turned back around to face whatever circumstance had been thrown his way.