When one is forced into an environment one hasn't acclimated to, one tends to feel cold and alienated. Though Rentri had set up dormitories for Aylin and me, as well as class schedules and information, nothing could stop the glares from the other students. After all, we were just a pair of strays who got lucky. Except for the icy gazes from both students and teachers alike, no one harassed us. It was shocking that nobody degraded us for being strays.
Aylin and I were assigned rooms adjacent to each other, with a few strings pulled by Rentri. We had received the school uniforms as well and were placed with the first-years, even though we were three years older than them.
"Vivshi!" Aylin called out to me as I was walking to the next class.
We walked through the luscious garden full of native flowers. The sea flowers that bloomed only in the city of Nautilus covered the surfaces of the ponds in the garden. I could feel eyes staring at us and hear quiet muttering among the students as we walked by them.
Aylin was semi-aware of the gazes, but it seemed like years as a sailor and working in the brothel had toughened her and made her resistant to being cast under. She cheerily hummed a nursery rhyme and asked me if I was excited to attend our first class. I couldn't help but smile at her optimistic mindset and quietly hummed the Lullaby of the Moon with the same rhythm as Aylin.
Our first class today was mathematics. The teacher seemed uninterested in us students and simply told everyone to sit down. The classroom was spacious and lined with rows of seats, and the lecturer told us to choose any seat freely. The teacher began writing numbers on the chalkboard and lecturing.
Both Aylin and I had been taught the basics of math by our mothers, but this was the first time we had seen the use of variables. After the lecture, the teacher told us to practice what we had learned freely. Aylin showed me her notes and began writing down some practice exercises on my paper.
The class was a bit chaotic, as the boys were wrestling and falling over their desks. They laughed and yelled, but the teacher didn't seem to care about their cacophonous behavior. He sipped his coffee, and on closer look, the teacher seemed truly exhausted. His face had deep, sunken eye bags and messy, ungroomed hair. He leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on the teacher's desk.
"Professor Linus?" A student raised her hand and asked for help.
The professor sighed heavily, as if he had been told to work in the mines. He took slow steps toward the student in need and walked past the disruptive boys without so much as a glance. He pointed out the mistake she had made and slowly walked back toward his chair. That was when Aylin also called for him.
Aylin showed the professor the questions she had written, and the teacher seemed a bit surprised. He picked up the paper full of exercises, and for the first time in this class, he looked pleased. He handed the paper back and praised her enthusiasm before returning to dismiss the class.
Everyone began packing up, and I looked over at Aylin, who was still writing down extra questions to practice. That was when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone familiar. She had long, black, purplish hair and was elegantly dressed. Her gown bore the infamous embroidery of the royal family.
It was the girl from the capital, Emovi.
"Vivshi! Let's gooo to our next class!" Aylin tugged on me.
I turned back to Aylin and nodded, and she dragged me away to the next lecture. From that moment on, I kept running into Emovi everywhere, but I didn't know if I should talk to her. She was always with someone, chatting away happily. I thought that if I interrupted her life here at the academy, it might ruin her reputation.
It was our second-to-last class of the day. The teacher sat cross-legged on the desk, rocking back and forth with her eyes closed, while the students wondered what she was doing. She had long, dark blue hair tied into a neat bun, and strange crystals were attached to her body.
As the chatter in the room grew louder, the teacher stopped rocking and took one of the gems from her armband, holding it up for the class to see.
She threw it toward the ceiling above the rows of desks where we sat. The gem exploded, and a sparkling ocean, like one on a summer's day, formed across the ceiling. Every student craned their neck upward, eyes filled with awe at the spectacle before them.
"What you are seeing are the waves of the Gulf of Nautilus."
As the waves crashed and slowly receded, the teacher reached out her hand. Blue dust gathered in her palm and merged back into the gem she had thrown, though it turned gray after a few seconds. She placed it into her pocket and explained that what we had witnessed was the power of an Aeon.
The energy that Aeons absorb is called loxes. Loxes exist in all shapes and forms and can be absorbed through nearly anything. To utilize loxes, one must affiliate themselves with an Aeon, and if one is fortunate enough, their energy will flow through the body, allowing the use of a fraction of the Aeon's abilities.
The example she had shown came from the Aeon of Dexterity's clairvoyance. All the students, even the previously cacophonous and unwilling, listened intently to her words.
"My name is Lua, and I will be your history and lox instructor."
She sat back on her desk and kicked her legs idly as she began telling us the legend of Hectima, the hero who saved Nautilus. The class ended far too quickly, and almost everyone wanted to stay behind to speak with Lua. She told us to place our questions into a small box and promised to address them in the next lesson.
Everyone rushed to write something down. Even Aylin was diligently scribbling questions about epics, clearly testing whether our teacher was truly qualified. As everyone focused on their own notes, I grew curious about something related to Aeons.
On a small, torn piece of paper, I scribbled my question. As we walked past the teacher's desk, I slipped it into the box. Lua smiled warmly at me and told us to have a wonderful day.
Aylin stretched both arms above her head before running ahead of me.
"WASN'T THAT CLASS SO FUN?" she exclaimed, so energized she nearly leapt into the air.
"The teacher seems much more interesting than the rest," I said, unable to stop myself from smiling at her enthusiasm.