"Waldon of Numari"
The said boy got up. His hands clearly shaking from either fear or excitement perhaps both.
The brown of his hair almost glimmered as the sun passed over him above the glass dome. Archmage Halgir looked as stoic as ever. Waldon thought the man could directly stare at someone's soul with how intense his stare was.
He reached the dais and knelt in front of the violet crystal orb.
Waldon grabbed the ceremonial dagger with trepidation. With a still shaking hand, he resolutely cut across his palm.
The blood trickling over and falling on top of the orb. Waldon released a deep breath that he didn't know he was holding.
It took a while for the orb to register. Once the orb shined a malefic green, nearly making Waldon topple over on his back, it went back to its usual violet sheen.
He saw the archmage give a nod and got up. Trying his best not to make his shivering legs obvious.
The hall silenced itself once Archmage Halgir cleared his throat.
"With this — our ceremony ends. Today all of you have officially begun your new lives." Halgir paused before sweeping his eyes over everyone. Making the gleam on his eyes from the floating crimson lanterns more obvious.
"From now, somethings about you no longer matter. The strength of your family, the depth of your coffers or the shackles on your ankles; none of these matter anymore." Halgir's eyes momentarily stopped on Waldon before looking above at the dome, "You came here, for which I do not know and neither care. Your future is now to be a researcher, a discoverer!"
"The tower was built by an ancient mage who left all materialistic needs in the past before pursuing the unknown. As has been the tradition. We, myself and your professors, do not expect you to be such. Many of you will leave us once you reach Fourth or Third Degree.
But for as long as you are here — you will act as such and live like a true mage!"
Waldon looked on with awe at the grandiosity of it all while some of his peers snickered.
His jaw was left hanging once the archmage blipped out of the room.
"Yes yes, a round of applause for our esteemed principal!" Waldon looked at the professor who spoke, he was wearing a brown almost mud-like colored garb with a hood. It had the Tower's insignia imprinted on the front over the chest.
The man continued with a humorous smile once the clapping slowed, "Now, the boys dormitories are situated on the left most side of the third floor. The girls are just a floor above on the exact opposite. Go explore for now, remember first years have a strict curfew at nine o'clock. All students are also expected to have basic decorum."
Waldon decided to stick with the group as they exited the auditorium. The tower was magically enlarged. What looked like a tumbling old stack of bricks could house hundreds with comfort.
He decided to take a proper look at the group he was moving with.
A few faces he recognized from the ceremony. Firstly, Bennett Kallian, a petite girl with her jet black hair in a ponytail. She had an aloof expression on her face while glancing at everything around her. Waldon had heard that surname somewhere — and just thought she was pretty. Probably one of the nobles, he thought.
Roland of Barxley, a tall and broad shouldered boy with a haircut on a square face Waldon had seen most of the city guards sport. Waldon thought his golden locks did a decent enough job to make him unique in his own way.
A stout boy shorter than Waldon, who was sitting at a generous 5'7'', kept to the back of the cohort right behind Waldon. He had forgotten the name due to the excitement of the ceremony.
To Waldon's right, was another boy a little taller than himself. His ash-grey hair having caught most of the cohort's eyes once or twice. His hair saved him from his otherwise bland features that were common in Uxor; a round jaw, straight eyebrows with black irises. Waldon also took note of what seemed to be a steel signet ring on his left index finger.
"So, let's introduce ourselves?" Roland spoke up, his voice sharp but not overtly heavy. Everything about this guy reminded Waldon of the city guards.
Bennet scoffed, she turned around and started moving to the opposite of the group. Leaving behind shards of the perfect image Waldon had been curating in his mind.
This started a chain reaction of people breaking away from the group, leaving behind Roland, Waldon and the guy with a signet ring.
"Lucius Janus," Lucius said while puffing up his chest.
Roland snickered and hit Lucius's belly. Making him puff out the air in his lungs.
"Hey!"
"You looked like a peacock. Anyways, let's explore," Roland said with a mischievous smile. An expression Waldon thought not possible with such stoic features.
The group fell on a rhythmic step as they traversed the tower.
Waldon had never before felt more like he had made the correct decision back then.