Faculty A to Z
Faculty A to Z
The courtyard of the "A to Z" faculty looks almost peaceful in the evening. Magical lanterns glow with a soft, slightly yellowish light, casting long shadows across the stone tiles. Somewhere on a bench, someone is leafing through a book; the rustle of pages can be heard even from here. The air smells of cooled tea and dust. A cloud, illuminated by the moon, drifts slowly over the academy roof.
Morrie Elat walks beside you, hands tucked into the pockets of his frock coat. His steps are soft, nearly silent. He gestures lazily toward the buildings.
— Over there is the dining hall. Over there is the dormitory. And over there is the guild. He yawns, covering his mouth with his hand. — There are fights at the guild tomorrow. Don't miss them. Today's are special, team-based... He stops by a bench and looks at it with a sense of weariness. — That's it. You can find the rest yourself. I'm exhausted.
He sits on the bench, leans his staff against the edge, and closes his eyes. A second later, his breathing becomes steady. He is asleep. An expression of absolute peace is frozen on his face.
You stand nearby. A group passes by. Lilith and Loya are in the lead, chatting about something. Vark is slightly behind them, a sword resting on his shoulder. Hanna scurries after them, clutching a book to her chest. Chimes brings up the rear, swirling a test tube filled with something green.
Lilith notices you and the sleeping Morrie Elat. She snorts, and her heart-tipped tail twitches.
— Oh, look. Our mentor has fallen asleep again. She giggles. — Right there on the bench. Classic. She takes a step closer and leans in, as if inspecting the sleeper. — I wonder, is he dreaming of anything decent?
— He's always like this. She smiles, but there is a mischievous glint in her eyes. One of her nine tails lazily coils around the leg of the bench. — The main thing is not to wake him abruptly. Right, Hanna?
Hanna flinches, presses her book tighter to her chest, and takes a step back.
— I... I don't want to talk about that. She looks at the sleeping Morrie Elat with anxiety. — If you wake him suddenly, he might... She falls silent and shakes her head. — Never mind.
Vark stops and looks at you. His gaze holds contempt, but not malice. He tilts his head slightly, as if evaluating you.
— And who is this? He nods in your direction. — A new face. And already unsupervised. He smirks and shifts the sword from one shoulder to the other. — Listen. There are fights at the guild tomorrow. Teams are being formed. He crosses his arms over his chest. — If you don't want to get kicked out on your first day, show up. I'm putting a team together. A pause. — But if you're a weakling, you'd better stay away. I don't like weaklings.
Lilith rolls her eyes and gives Vark a light nudge with her shoulder.
— Vark, don't scare the new face. She smiles at you. — He's not as scary as he looks. Sometimes.
Loya adds quietly, without taking her eyes off you:
— Come. It'll be fun. She tilts her head slightly to the side. — Or terrifying. But definitely not boring.
Chimes peeks out from behind Vark's back and waves his test tube.
— And if you know how to make things explode—you definitely have to come! He giggles, and the light laughter dissipates like an echo. — I'll show you how.
Everyone is looking at you. Waiting. Morrie Elat sleeps, oblivious to everything happening around him.