The Tower's Reach reached the Academy coast just after sunrise. The mist clinging to the water didn't lift—it felt like it watched. Waves lapped against the hull in slow, uneven beats, as if the sea was holding its breath.
The Academy rose out of the fog piece by piece.
Not a castle.Not a fortress.Something stranger.
Black spires stabbed upward through layers of drifting smoke, their surfaces carved with runes that crawled when stared at too long. Long bridges, thin as bones, connected tower to tower. Ravens circled the highest one—hundreds of them—silent, never flapping their wings.
Kael stepped onto the dock.
The air smelled of old parchment, cold stone, and something faintly metallic—like iron soaked in dusk.
Eiden whispered, "Gods… We're actually here."
Kael said nothing.
A robed attendant waited at the dock entrance. Their face was covered by a smooth mask carved in the shape of a raven's beak.
"Welcome, initiates," they said, voice echoing oddly. "You stand before the Tower. Do not wander. Do not speak to the ravens. Do not open doors that are closed."
A door in the stone wall behind them began to slowly creak open.The attendant stepped aside.
"This way. It is time to choose."
The Choosing Hall
The hall felt impossibly tall. Arched ceilings curved upward into darkness. Floating candles drifted across the air, anchored by no strings. Carved pillars displayed sigils from dozens of magical disciplines—fire, metal, dream, bone, wind, shadow.
Students from the ship lined up, tense and silent.
At the far end, six pedestals glowed. Each represented an Academy division:
— Raven Nest (General Apprentice Path)— Iron Spire (Battle Path)— Deep Library (Theory Path)— Sable Hall (Dark Studies)— Silver Vein (Alchemy)— Dream Loom (Mind Arts)
A voice filled the chamber, deeper than stone.
"Step forward. Your mana will choose your initial path."
One by one, students placed their hands on a silver plate. Mana flared—small, weak, confused.
Eiden went first. His plate glowed soft green.
"Silver Vein," the voice said. Alchemy.
Then Aria Vale. Her plate shimmered pale silver.
"Dream Loom," the hall whispered back.
Finally—Kael.
He placed his palm on the cold plate.Mana pulsed immediately—clean, sharp.
The metal froze under his touch.Frost spread across the pedestal in a perfect circle.
The entire room went silent.
Then—
The ravens in the rafters cawed once. Deep, resonant.
A black flame ignited on the pedestal.
"Raven Nest," the voice declared."The path of foundation. The path of those who climb."
There was a murmur—approval? Curiosity? Kael couldn't tell.
Raven Nest was the general path—broad, adaptable, respected. Many great mages came from it.
But the frost reaction…
That was unusual.
Kael removed his hand and stepped back calmly.
Inside, the Codex flickered:
[RAVEN NEST — APPROVED][PATH BONUSES UNLOCKED: +Mana Stability, +Rune Capacity]
Useful. Very useful.
Raven Nest — Orientation
A masked attendant in black feathered robes led Kael and three other Raven Nest initiates through winding corridors. Torches glowed with pale flame, faintly blue at the edges.
"This is your dorm," the attendant said.
They opened a door into a wide circular chamber with stacked alcoves—each student got a small stone cell with a bed, desk, and a view of the inner courtyard.
"Choose any."
Kael picked one near the back—quiet, dark, practical.
"Collect your items," the attendant continued.
They handed each student a black apprentice's bundle.
Kael opened his:
— One set of black spell robes (lightweight, rune-stitched)— A beginner's Wizard Language primer (Old Tongue)— Ten Lesser Magic Stones (training-quality)— A blank rune tablet— One small silver dagger (ritual use)— A student sigil tag (identification)
The stone tablet hummed faintly when he touched it.The primer was heavy, filled with strange curved symbols.
The magic stones pulsed weakly—like dim lamps.
Good enough for training.
Kael slipped the items into his alcove.
Eiden poked his head in from the hallway."Your room looks like a cave, Kael."
"Good," Kael answered. "Quiet."
Eiden laughed. "You're a strange one."
Maybe. Or maybe Kael simply knew how to survive.
Meeting the Mentor
A bell tolled once, low and heavy.
"Mentor assignment," the attendant announced. "Stand straight."
A door in the hall opened.
A tall figure stepped in—robes of deep grey, hair streaked white though he didn't look old, and a faint silver mark under his left eye. His gaze swept across the apprentices with a calmness that felt like a knife dipped in warm water.
"This group is mine?" he asked.
"Yes, Magister Rowan," the attendant replied.
Rowan.
Kael had heard that name—whispered among sailors who ferried past the Academy.A rune master.A man said to have survived three expeditions into forbidden zones.Not cruel. Not kind. Just… precise.
Rowan faced them.
"Name yourselves."
The apprentices went in order.
"Kael Ardent."
Rowan's eyes paused on him for half a second—long enough to register the frost residual around Kael's mana.
Then Rowan nodded.
"You four will train under me for the next three years—if you last that long."His tone wasn't mocking. It was simply fact."Your foundation starts today."
He turned sharply.
"Follow."
Kael stepped behind him.
For the first time since leaving home, he felt something very real settle in his chest.Not fear.Not excitement.
A direction.
He had a path now.A mentor.A division.A place to grow.