.^^ Lady Madeline DuPont ^^

— James —

After everyone left, we went exploring a bit, starting from the House, which I discovered was actually more of a compound. It stood at the entrance to a sprawling neighborhood, fenced in by Rune-covered bricks to keep out intruders, and which was apparently occupied only by members of my new Clan. Close to thirty houses, all with lofts or second floors, almost all occupied.

The one we'd been directed to was directly across the street from the Family House, and the loft was huge, with an open floor plan.

Mum hummed happily, tracing the frame of the large room. "It'll do... it'll do nicely... rent?" She asked the older woman who had accompanied us, apparently Xeda's older sister.

The woman grumbled, thinking, and typed in a calculator. "Aha! Mm, yes... £200 a month should do." She said casually.

"That's all? I don't want to take advantage..." Mum sighed.

"That is the cost of my water bill. Rent doesn't really exist, here, we own this land. Only utilities. You pay one bill, and honor is appeased." The old woman said firmly, then wandered down into the elevator, which she had ridden up while we took the stairs.

She had apparently had it installed when her hip started to go bad, because she likes to bring food up to the previous resident, another grandson who had gone off to college to become a geologist. We learned a hell of a lot of information about this man, as she kept talking about him, but never his name. I don't think she remembered it.

I grinned. "You won't find anything better." I shrugged.

She nodded. "That's true... and I love the arches and exposed beams!!!" She squealed excitedly, and small flowers started blooming on every raw wooden beam.

"Honeysuckle? First time you do magic in front of me, and you bloom honeysuckle?" I said dryly.

She blushed. "I happen to rather enjoy honeysuckle! Hmph!"

I smiled and grew some Basil and Thyme, for aromatics, and soon the entire loft smelled like heaven.

Satisfied, we met Athenos and Rafaela at the gate, and he grinned. "Hey! Alright, so three things. First, the key to the Cellar, so you can come see me anytime you like." He held out a copy of the silver key.

I grinned and added it to my necklace, next to my grandparents rings. "Sweet."

"And second, a Key to Sanctuary. Give me your left hand?" He wiggles his fingers, showing me the Runes on his knuckles briefly.

I held out my helft hand, and he laid his hand over them. It stung for a moment, like it was a brand, but then faded. "Perfect! And now your right, I'll give you the key to this Gate." He pointed at the main gate.

The process was repeated, and he held out a hand to Mum. "You have a Key to Sanctuary, right?"

"I do." She nodded.

"Good, then the Gate." He nodded, and gripped her hand, branding her second knuckles, then releasing her quickly. "Now we're all set! Let's go see the school! Term starts in a week or so, so we're not too late to enroll, I called the principal, and it's still the same old Ogre, so the magical portion has only gotten bigger! Turns out that the entire population of the school is now magical, though the classes hasn't changed much. You can enter electives, now, instead of extracurriculars-... I'll wait, sorry, I got excited." He grinned, and led us out of the gate, which he allowed me to unlock with my new brand.

The walk was short, barely five minutes, but I quickly realized most everyone in this part of town was magical. Not all, so we still had to be careful, but the mundane ones that were here didn't seem to mind everyone else being odd.

The school was situated inside another gated community. This one, however, featured a very powerful illusion. As soon as we walked in, the truth became clear.

Someone had made a small dragon out of fire, which was prancing around and shooting fireworks out of its mouth, and occasionally farting them, which resulted in random hilarity, and was great to watch. A few other people were crafting Runes, under Kari's watchful eye.

Yet still more people were just reading under a willow, but the books were floating around their heads, turning pages on their own, and occasionally making little illusions that looked like dragon's fighting Mages. Those were younger students, or perhaps that portion was a day-care of some sort, because an older woman sat in the tree above them, casually watching everything like a owl.

When the old owl woman saw us, she raised a needle-thin eyebrow, and suddenly was an owl. She flew over, and shifted again in midair, landing smoothly, like she'd done it a million times.

"Wicked." I grinned.

She hummed. "Mr. Athenos, a pleasure to see you once again..."

"Dr. Parthenos, actually." He said proudly, hands on his hips.

Her lips twitched a bit into a smile, then back to the disinterested mask. "I see. Congratulations are in order, I suppose. And this would be James Parthenos, your son?"

"Peterson, actually." Mother corrected, then flinched from the older woman's suddenly baleful gaze.

"I am fully aware that you are his mother, and would like to have claim upon him, but remember he is a Mage. He must have a name that reflects this. The name Parthenos is his birthright. You gave him his given name. The other is his father's." The woman said firmly.

Mum frowned, but nodded. "True enough..."

"Now, James Parthenos, why are you here?" She turned to me.

"To tour the school, see if I would like it here? From what I see, it would be great to be around other Mages. I'm sure I could learn a lot here, but the best part would be not having to lie to people, I guess. I'm a terrible liar." I shrugged.

"In most, that is considered a virtue." She did that little half-smirk thing again.

"And in a Mage, a weakness that can give you a heart attack." I countered.

"Perhaps." She nodded. "Irregardless, you would fit in well, here. Your Father was much more introverted than you, and so did not make many friends..."

"Principal, that's not really relevant." Athenos stroked his goatee to hide some of his face, embarrassed.

"No, I suppose it isn't. What type of Mage are you, child, as if I have to ask?" She added under her breath.

"Crystal and Nature, Madame Principal. I also have the Gift of Tongues, and an affinity for Metals and forging." I showed her Frostbite, and she blinked slowly. (The first time she had done so, I realized. Her eyes were always half-lidded, so you never noticed she didn't blink.)

"Oh my... an affinity for metal, you say? Yes... Karinzenos will teach you what you do not know... I will be interested in your progress in this area..." she nodded slowly, then held out a small card, almost like a credit card.

I took it, and she disappeared entirely. After looking for her, and finding an ant, sprinting away, I grinned at my face on the card, along with my basic information, and in embossed gold, 'Summers' Academy of Excellence ' across the top.

"So I'm in? Just like that?" I asked Athenos.

"Nah. Now you're a prospective student. You need to impress the Principal during the Trials to get in. Best part of the process, I swear. Great fun, if you like to compete magic vs magic, and you do." He laughed.

"Oh! Cool!" I grinned, and started exploring some more.

Turns out, the fire dragon was just a coating of some sort around some boys inside a robot suit of sorts, which was flying with a massive version of drone technology, not magic. They were piloting it from the inside, as well as firing the fireworks.

I introduced myself, and they grinned in sync. I realized they were not twins, and entirely different races, (one African, one Polynesian,) only when they spoke.

"Hello! I am Sha'dakar, people call me Dakar, because they are lazy, but I don't mind. I am from the Egypt!"  The African boy grinned happily.

"And I am Fuschia. Yes, like the color. I am from Fiji." His partner nodded.

"Hello! I'm James Parthenos, from England!" I shook their soot and motor-oil stained hands, and then waved goodbye, citing more exploring to be had.

Then we finally made our way into the entrance halls. Much bigger on the inside than they should have been, decorated by blind Dwarves, but beautiful architecture, that was for sure. I realized this was the only building I'd seen, except for the dock on the bay-side, and grinned.

Doors, clearly marked in several languages, led off to what I assumed were classrooms.

Athenos whistled softly. "They've upgraded everything..."

"Well, when you went here, we still had mundane students. After one too many Geas incidents, we decided to go private." A woman approached, and Athenos gasped, grabbing the woman in a giant hug, spinning her around, and finally setting her down.

"James, Alexia, Rafaela, meet Madeline DuPont, the most awesome librarians assistant that ever lived." He grinned.

"Vice Principal And Head Librarian, thank you very much." She straightened her purple bow tie, smirking.

"Really?!? That's great!!! What happened to Lady Helen?" He asked, suddenly concerned.

"It's very sad, yes, she was the reason we changed. She thought she was dealing with a magical student, and gave him a book on magic. The heart attack sent her to the hospital, and sadly she didn't pull through. That was twelve years ago, I'm sorry no one notified you." The woman patted his shoulder gently.

"Oh... that is definitely unfortunate..." he frowned.

"Yes, well, who is this!?!" She changed the subject, kneeling to my height. I realized she was much taller than I'd thought, nearly seven feet tall, and blinked slowly.

"I'm James, James Athenos Peterson-Parthenos! Are you a Dwarf?" I asked.

Mum smacked my skull. "You can't ask things like that, child! There's etiquette to consider!"

The Dwarven Librarian smiled kindly. "It's alright. Yes, I am a Dwarf, and my family is from Gallic France. It is very nice to meet you, sir Parthenos! Your father and I were the very best of friends, when he went here, and I hope you love books as much as he does!"

I shook her hand firmly. "You will be seeing me promptly as soon as I am allowed a library card and twenty minutes of free time."

She giggled and stood, stepping back so she wasn't towering over me. "Well I am glad to hear that! Speaking of library cards." She tapped my ID, still in my hand. It glowed, then a holographic stamp appeared over my picture that said 'Approved'. Then she winked conspiratorially. "Technically I'm not supposed to allow that until you've passed the trials, but I've got a good feeling about you, my boy."

"Tha- I mean, Much Obliged, Lady Madeline!" I grinned at my error.

She smiled and patted my hair. "It is very much my pleasure, Sir Parthenos. The next round of trials starts in a few minutes, if you're participating... And you should visit more often." She scolded Athenos, then walked away, speaking to a few other administrators.

"Well, you're in the very best of hands. Principal Summers and Vice DuPont will keep everything running smoothly, yes indeed." Athenos grinned happily, and led me off into one of the crowds. "Alright, I'm not allowed past this point, so you just follow the instructions you're given, Alright? I'll see you on the other side." He patted my back, pushing me gently into the group.

"Knock 'Em dead Son!" Mum yelled after me.

I chuckled and walked with the group of twenty or so, until we entered a gymnasium of sorts. "Alright! Mein Name is Herr Victor, I am your examiner for today's Trials!" A tall blonde man entered the room, and sat on a stack of planks that had appeared.

"There will be four sections, each testing a different portion of your strengths, from Magical Knowledge, Magical Power, Mathematical Ingenuity, Physical Acuity, Or Problem Solving Skills. We will start with Problem Solving! The planks under me weight 100 kilograms a piece. You must build a fort from them! How do you do this?"

I blinked and raised a hand.

"Parthenos!" He barked.

"Uhm, we work together? There's twenty of us, all capable of lifting at the least 20 kilograms, so lifting them with teams of four should be relatively easy."

"Correct! Teams of four, MOVE!" He roared.

I grabbed three people, bodily dragging them with me to a small area drawn on the floor.

"Time's up! Everyone not inside a square, be aware you have been marked! Now you have twenty seconds to correct yourself, or you will be disqualified entirely!" He barked again.

"James." I held out my hand to my new teammates.

"Trevor." "Elise." "...Zetre." We looked at the smaller boy, and he grinned. "Yes, Zetre, I'm not joking."

"Cool Name." I nodded.

"Alright, yay, everyone made it into a square. Now you will make your Fort!" He snapped.

I pulled Trevor back, and grinned. "He didn't say leave the squares. I think they're getting marked." I pointed at the man writing on a clipboard.

"Okay, So we magic them over." Zetre nodded.

I nodded and felt for the wood with my mind, making a few planks grow tiny roots, and wiggled them until they were walking towards us on the ground.

Trevor simply levitated a few, sweating with effort, and Elise and Zetre actually summoned the wood, a waste of magic. They were showing off. That wasn't good.

"Don't waste your magic, you don't know how long the Trial is." I warned them, and picked up my planks, building a wall along the left side of the square.

As the others placed their's, I grew roots between them, as we had no nails. Soon we had a full Fort, but I wasn't done. I placed a seed from one of my crystal trees, one of my Bonsai Seeds, into a knot in the wood, and let it take over the wood.

It all slowly turned into crystal, as they watched, awed. I was quick to set a hinge and door in one side, before the crystal got there, and was relieved when it still worked, even after the wood was fully crystallized.

"Alright, time is up! If you're not done, pile all your wood in the center, and move out of the squares, everyone."

We filed out, and I saw him squint at ours, then shrug.

"Next Test, Magical Knowledge and Power! Set your forts on fire with magic, but don't allow them to burn." He said simply.

The others glared at me, and I grinned, placing a hand on the crystal, and commanding it to set itself ablaze. The crystal became Volcanic immediately, scorching the floor beneath it, and the nearby wooden forts, much to their owner's dismay, but not harming itself.

"Alright, that's enough burning, let's freeze them, instead." He shrugged, acting bored.

Zetre cast a small, intricate spell, and the flames froze in the air instantly.

I blinked. "Whoa... cool."

"Alright, last part, destroy your fort."

I sighed, and called back the seed from the new crystal wood, and watched as the others tried to break the crystal with a thousand methods, some I didn't even understand, but I simply placed a hand on it, and commanded it to shatter.

I gathered up the pile of crystals, stuffing them in my bag, and then stood back in the circle, with the others.

"Alright! We've got your results for Portion A. Next you'll follow the Head Librarian, and begin the Written portion." He said disinterestedly, and when I passed him, he handed me a piece of crystal I'd missed. "Best not to allow anyone else to get ahold of that recipe, Boy... it seems special."

I grinned. "I appreciate that."

—

The written portion blew me away. Into pieces. Scattered across the cosmos.

I didn't understand the language, mostly, as it was all in Latin, but after realizing no one could hear me, I simply read it aloud, several times, until I said it right, and the translation came to me.

The sections about magical history were a complete and utter disgrace, as I couldn't even name one Minister of Elemental Magic, something I didn't know existed, much less how many wars there had been between the apparently famous 'Water Clans of the Nile' and the 'Diamond Clans of Greece'.

I felt like a total bum, three questions in, and I was sure I'd gotten none of them right. No multiple choice, neither, they wanted full sentence answers to this nonsense!

I reached a point I felt comfortable with, English Mythical History, and I answered questions like 'Who were the Knights of Arthur's Table?' And 'How old was Merlin when he died?' With relative ease, but I didn't think it was enough, as that was only a tenth of the test. The rest was focused on everywhere else in the world. I had no clue that the Geas was introduced in 1674, nor did I know that it was Merlin Himself who did it, (making me change my answer about his age when he died.)

So, I was pretty sure I failed miserably.

The third portion of the Trials was a sort of microscopic problem, in that I had to do magic on a tiny, minuscule scale, to solve an issue, and if I used more than a preset amount, I was marked. I didn't do too well on that one, either, but the Fourth Test got me excited.

Two words: Battle Magic.

I stepped back into the gymnasium, and grinned at the change. The floor had been replaced with a spongy-sort of tile, and there were much larger squares laid out.

I stepped into one, and grinned. "Who's my opponent?" I asked Herr Victor.

"You." He smirked.