- This topic has 923 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 17 minutes ago by
.
-
Posts
-
@loopylin @ellette-giselle @koshka @elishavet-pidyon
Moth
“What sort of lessons will there be, do you think?” Moth asked.
Ellis opened his mouth to answer. Before he could, the dining hall hushed.
Headmaster Howell himself stood at the front of the room, about to say a few words. He had just gotten up from his place next to the professors, where they ate at the head of the table.
The headmaster stood tall, with auburn hair and a sharp, defined face. A few old scars streaked his jaw, probably from a lifetime of dangerous skirmishes with rivals.
At the same time, he had a playful, expressive air, as if he truly did not care to act his age. Multiple expressions kept flickering across his face. Every forehead wrinkle and smile line kept changing, sometimes in the blink of an eye.
“Alright, my highborn whippersnappers,” he called out. “Last night’s speech was the boring one that no one remembers. So I’m going to say a few words while you’re still pacified eating breakfast.”
There was a smattering of laughter, mostly from the new students.
“You are all in danger.”
Some people laughed again, but it was confused laughter.
“I mean this quite literally. You are all in peril. You were chosen at this young age, in one way or another, to become important people someday. Whether you will become a king, politician, military leader, or a member of a council – whatever it is – you are here to learn hard truths about what is expected of you.
“One of those expectations is that you will survive. If you aren’t strong – if you aren’t ready for the challenges ahead – you are probably in for a rough life. You have to be prepared and realize that to some degree, there is no safety. But be happy, my friends! What is life without a bit of risk, and a bit of testing? A leader is only as good as the values he sacrifices himself for. That sacrifice is the danger. What a happy danger, eh?
“You should all know that I received a couple of complaints this morning, still in my bathrobe and slippers. One – the garden caretakers were horrified this morning when they walked over the field behind the hedge garden. Two – the key to a new student’s bedroom, which was given to him last night, was lost. This morning, it was found, jammed into the floorboards of one of the locked-up towers.”
The back of Moth’s neck prickled. There was another man standing near the wall – one of the professors. He had a long, scraggly beard, and he was steadily gazing in Moth and Ellis’ direction. His face was so gaunt, with shadows over his eyes, that it was hard to tell if he was staring at Moth in particular.
“My interest is piqued for the year. Please remember that you are being watched.” Howell’s eyes twinkled. “To an extent.”
With that, the headmaster shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, and sidled back to his seat.
…
@whalekeeper I think you just saved Wolf’s nose
Any paint can be finger paint if you don't care enough
@ellette-giselle @loopylin @elishavet-pidyon @whalekeeper
Whoops, took too long to respond. Shall rewrite.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
@ellette-giselle @loopylin @elishavet-pidyon @whalekeeper
Yup. Wolf’s nose just got a few more minutes of safety.
Ari
Funny? This laughing eyes boy thought the language of the Elder would be funny? Fire rose in Ari through even as his voice turned cold.
“No. This pile of stone wasn’t build for your own–”
A sudden hush fell over the hall cutting off his ridicule mid sentence. A familiar if carefully avoided man stood at the top of the room. His voice responded with that odd mixture of authority and amusement that explained this place.
Another silence followed the man’s somewhat disconcerting speech. Ari broke it with a harsh, entirely mirthless, laugh.
Expected to survive? Ha. Even the strong vanished into the Void in time.
He stood from the table, knocking Wolfgang’s shoulder as he stepped around his chair. He ignored the irritating boy.
Time to get out of this windowless room.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
Welp, I could have, but I didn’t think of that. XD
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
Lucian
People didn’t seem to like the headmaster’s speech. Conversations picked up again, hesitantly, but a general uneasiness hung in the air.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lucian saw a servant approaching. He slipped a few gold coins out of his pocket and hid them in the folds of the used napkin on his plate. The servant stood close as he placed a pitcher of water on the table and took away Lucian’s plate.
“Well… that was… ominous,” the boy next to him remarked, looking around the room at all the different staff members. The boy was the son of a nobleman from a country run by an aristocratic oligarchy. He was only at the school to mess around and feed his ego by rubbing elbows with other royals. Rich, but not very influential. No military training. Not a threat.
“Ominous. Yes,” Lucian responded absentmindedly, feeling in his pocket for the note and the key the servant had slipped him. “I suppose we need to keep our guards up.”
Any paint can be finger paint if you don't care enough
Also note that Ari would have been quite amused by the mention of the torn up field.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
Also, he seems smart enough to help interpret Ellis’ visions. Is that part of his role as Ellis’ older brother?
Sort of. A bit of an unofficial role
Any paint can be finger paint if you don't care enough
I don’t know what to do with Lois lol
Any paint can be finger paint if you don't care enough
Moth
A fake laugh broke the silence. It was Ari, who stood up and left the dining hall. He wasn’t the only one who left abruptly, but he was the first.
What was the matter? Had something bad happened? Moth was torn. Talking with this strange new kid, Ellis, had been a great way to spend breakfast time up until this point. But something in the room had gone awry.
…
Ellis
The pain in Ellis’ head grew again, stinging the backs of his eyes. He leaned forward, massaging his forehead, then stood.
“I’m going outside for some fresh air.” His gaze was distant and distracted, but his eyes refocused for a moment as he looked down at Moth. “You can join me, if you like.” Then he left the table, pushing his chair back in behind him, and walked towards the door.
Any paint can be finger paint if you don't care enough
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.