The rest of dinner went by without a hitch, albeit minus the dagger eyes Corven got from many of the other tables and some from his own. There were some students who tried to poach Celeste over to their faction, but the arrival of Faction Head Athan and his ominous glare had took care of that.
Corven did not care, though, as he still found the action hypocritical. He understood no one in the cultivation world liked most Primordial Spawns —- He'd read about it before his departure from the Luminaris Estate. Yet they wanted Celeste on their side, even despite being one? Because of her looks and talents? Very hypocritical in Corven's book, honestly.
Still, Corven did not pay them much mind. He honestly could care less what Celeste choose to pick. So long as she did not die or get herself hurt to the point of preventing Corven from following with the word he'd given her father, everything else did not matter.
Eventually, dinner ended and each of the faction heads lead their students to their corresponding manors surrounding the main castle after explaining to them that classes would start tomorrow. For the Shadow Faction, the big manor that Athan led everyone to was nearly a quarter the size of the main castle, so it was pretty huge. It was built with dark stone bricking, complete with stone columns and at least four stories in height. The thick, dark oak wooden, heavy front doors opened into a wide, vast foyer half the size of the Dining Hall in the main castle, with a pair of stairs leading to the upper echelons of the mansion and a hallway on either side leading deeper through the manor's corridors. Various older students were already wandering the corridors of the place, more than likely the upper class students.
"Welcome to the Shadowhouse!" Athan welcomed the new students. "From now on, you will be living here for the next 6 years, so I urge you to work hard and study studiously, and success will be earned. Now, for the tour…".
After giving a tour of the manor, Athan left the rest of orientation in the capable hands of a first-year repeat student named J.C. Kladion—a prodigious talent who, despite being only fifteen, was already in the late stages of Peak Legacy rank. His genius was undisputed. The only reason he was repeating his first year had nothing to do with academics and everything to do with politics and bloodlines. As a son of Hades and a distant descendant of a bastard branch of Zeus, J.C. had drawn the ire of some very powerful entities. The resulting interference had left him unable to complete his academic year the previous term, forcing him to return—not due to failure, but circumstance.
He now served as the student head for the first-years of the Shadow Faction, and he carried the role with the stoicism of someone far older. Broad-shouldered and powerfully built, his muscular frame spoke of intense physical discipline. His black hair fell just short of his collar, slightly tousled, and his piercing blue eyes hinted at his dual divine heritage. He wore dark blue jeans and a fitted black t-shirt beneath a single leather shoulder pauldron—functional, battle-worn, and etched with subtle runes. Matching brown leather faulds hung at his hips, engraved with ancient sigils that shimmered faintly in the light. His armored boots matched the rest of his gear, sturdy and scuffed with use, and a rough bronze gladius rested at his side, the blade clearly forged for more than ceremony.
Though he carried the blood of gods, J.C. was not of noble birth. He was a demigod and a cultivator, yes—but not one born into prestige or nobility — A bastard. He had carved out every ounce of power, skill, and respect with his own hands. For his age, he wasn't just talented—he was dangerously exceptional.
"And this is the dormitory hall," J.C was explaining as they arrived before a seemingly endless hallway of doors. "Girls on the right side, boys will be on the left side of the hall. And don't try anything funny — Our hall monitors are siren spirits, so we'll know if anything fishy occurs — Of that, I promise you," there was a glint in J.C's eyes that told a story, though Corven had no context of what that story was. "Anyway, the hallway itself is enchanted to have nearly endless rooms to fit all 309 Shadow Faction students. It is really convenient, huh?"
Corven eventually found his dorm — He had Jabari and Cimon as his roommates, with Celeste and two other girls across the hall by a few doors down. Corven wondered if this was Cimon's doing or Athan's. He had a feeling such a coincidental convenience could have been set up by either or both.
His dorm had three rooms — A central hall, two baths, a wide communal study and a Cultivation hall that was even wider, or, well, wide enough to comfortably fit three students at a given time, anyways. Corven had already begun redesigning his sleeping area to his liking, putting up his clothes and shutting all the blinds — he still couldn't stand sunlight, hated it, in fact — It was annoying.
Corven knew that his classes would be taking place in the main castle — Only later years students had the luxury of taking their classes in their faction manors by Head Professors of their factions. So all of Corven's classes would be shared with the freshmans of the other factions of the school, despite his slight distaste of the idea.
Corven was not an idiot. He sensed the distasteful vibes he was getting since officially being avouched for by Erebus —- He knew none of the school's student body nor its teachers seemed to like that he was a Primordial Spawn, and he was certain that no one really knowing much about Erebos, as he was the most mysterious of the Primordials, only served to deepen the distrust. He was almost certain that quite a few of them were already plotting against him because of it. He did not care, though. So long as they didn't bother Corven nor get in the way of his plans, he could hardly give a damn about what others thought of him or plotted against him for.
Still, Corven found himself thinking about how they all responded to Celeste's avouching. She, too, was a Primordial Spawn, and yet none of the students seemed to dislike her nor did any of the instructors. Corven was glad for it… At least, for her, maybe this meant her life here would be easy?
It still made Corven slightly bitter. He's always been good at reading people — It was more than just a survival mechanism — It was a talent, one that he's alway had and have taken pride in possessing countless times over the years. He's always known people were hypocrites, he just expected more from cultivators, Corven supposed.
Nonetheless, it did not matter. Corven had to focus on himself. He was never one to dwell too much on others. The world was a cruel place – Unjust and unfair, in pretty much every sense of the words. The cultivation world of cultivation was even more heartless and cruel. One could not allow themselves to be weak, otherwise, one will find themselves at the mercy of someone stronger. Always. That was a lesson life has drilled through Corven's head countless times in his years in foster care and it was the same system used by cultivators. He had to be stronger. He was not planning to kneel to no one ever again.
As Corven finished his shower, he began to cultivate. He cultivated for a few hours, though making only slight progress, he did not necessarily rank up. He still made progress, though, so he's not complaining.
He eventually went inside his Shadow Space to check on the griffon egg — It was still being guarded by the griffon whom Corven had tainted with darkness with his Taint ability. It was much more docile than before, much more lenient towards him near its sibling and the egg that had yet to hatch. It made a nest of sticks, stones, dirt and twigs, near the base of a thick, dying oak where it was built into the hollowed trunk of said tree. In the nest, the little young griffon and the egg was under the watchful gaze of the elder, more adolescent of the griffons. Both were touched[read: tainted] by darkness, even the egg, so both recognized Corven as their master.
After checking in on the egg, Corven checked in on Night Viper and Eclipse, and then on Crow, which he had resorted to calling the strange crow he was gifted to by his father.
Eventually, after reading a few scrolls in the Shadow Archive located inside his Shadow Space castle, the Shadow Palace, Corven decided to turn in for the evening, leaving the Shadow Space, and getting ready for bed. He had a big day for tomorrow, after all.