It was raining.

Headmaster Prokopios was softly humming a tune as he put on his silver sash. He was wearing a long gray robe with dull blue ornaments and long sleeves.

After a few moments, he walked in front of the crowd of students.

"Good morning, Headmaster Prokopios," the teens greeted.

"Good morning, Little Stars," he greeted back as he walked to the front of the room.

The room was like the inside of a cabin, except the ceiling was painted blue and brown. Two large cylindrical aquarium tanks were on either side of the room.

Headmaster Prokopios held up a silver and blue book that had a moon and sun on the front cover. "Some of you are still young, but it's important that you grasp the purpose of magic early on," he stated.

"As a student of Primordial Starlight Academy, you are on the way to becoming Primordia's official Liaison and to make worlds brighter," he continued. "You were gifted with the power of magic to help those in need. A light in the darkness. You will learn to protect yourselves, each other, and every world you come across. That is what it means to be a Child of Primordia."

"Yes, sir," the teens replied.

Headmaster Prokopios picked up a silver, star-covered veil. "You are gifted the power of magic to become powerful. To help and protect each other. Not to turn against each other for selfish reasons. The moment you forget that, you are no longer part of Primordia's Tapestry."

He turned toward the crowd of students and held out his hand.

"Ivan Black... will you have the honor?"

Paige blinked in surprise, and January widened her eyes in anger and disbelief. Ivan froze in surprise before he quickly replied, "y-yes, sir!"

He quickly rushed over to him.

"He's going to do the Sunday Prayer!?" January protested, "but that's the honor of the weekly top student! And I beat the hopscotch record. I did twenty whole steps! What did he do?"

"The most hard-working student of the week gets the honor," Headmaster Prokopios replied calmly as he gently set the veil on top of Ivan's head.

"Yes, and—"

"Ivan had to redo all his destroyed notes, meaning he had to do twice the work this week," Headmaster Prokopios stated.

Ianthe pursed her lips into a tight line.

"And remember, bullying will cost your reputation," the headmaster said with a slight frown, his eyes gleaming a ghostly silver.

January lowered her head, "I-I'm sorry, Headmaster Prokopios."

Headmaster Prokopios looked at Ivan. "On your knees, Ivan," he instructed.

The Irifloran nodded before he knelt down on the cool glass circle and bowed, his head resting on his hands.

The other teens did the same.

"Mother Primordia, hear my prayer," Ivan said in a clear voice, "Your Child of Stars stands in your care. Though worlds we walk are dark and scarred, no shadow holds our hearts in guard. From cosmic flame our souls were cast, bound not to fear, nor chained to past. Through blood and night, through fire and sky, we stand as one—we do not die. Your light within, a constant guide, no void nor storm shall turn our stride. Though stars may fade and planets fall, your voice, O Mother, calls us all. We are the flame that will not sever, your children now—and yours forever."

Slowly, sunlight shone through the clouds, and it lit up the room. Ivan looked up at the window in surprise.

"Well done, Ivan," Headmaster Prokopios praised with a smile as he lifted the veil. "I'm proud of you."

The Irifloran smiled happily. January huffed to herself.

Headmaster Prokopios clapped his hand once. "You're all dismissed."

The teens began to disperse as Ivan walked over to a table and picked up two books. Paige walked over to him. She tapped his shoulder, making him look at her.

"So... what's this I hear about reputation and bullying?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Oh, well, I don't really know about the whole reputation thing, but Ianthe has been... picking on me," Ivan explained. "She hasn't actually hurt me, but she did push me into the pond, and I had my notes with me."

Paige frowned, and she glanced over at Ianthe and January, who were talking with a few other students.

"Are they part of a group or something?" The Evaran asked.

"Yeah," Ivan answered with a nod, "the Mayhem Seekers. The ringleader is Marcellus Kramer. January and Ianthe follow him. So do Drew Cox, Aldrich Hughes, Hellia Mandylor, Enoch Polsen, Aurelia Adkins, and Phyllis Killingsworth. Marcellus is Charlotte's cousin."

Paige's eyes widened, and she whipped her head back to the Irifloran. "Eh?"

Ivan giggled softly. "Yeah. I don't think everyone was really shocked, though."

"They're polar opposites," Natalia huffed in amusement as she walked over with a book in hand. "Let's go meet up with the others. I hear we're going to spar again."

"Again?" Paige repeated nervously as the three Transcendants walked out of the praying room.

"Don't worry, I'm sure people will go easy on you this time," Ivan teased and yelped when Paige gently bapped at him.

"You shush, mister!" She exclaimed, and Natalia laughed.

After a while, Paige walked into the gym, wearing her gym sparring outfit. She looked around in surprise and curiosity. The gym wasn't as full as she thought. There were at least twenty to thirty people there.

Guess the other students would rather read than get dirtied up again, she thought with a small smile.

"Paigey!"

She looked over at the other Protectors and jogged over to them.

"So who are we sparring against this time?" Zethus asked, leaning against the wall.

"We don't know yet, but Lady Corice will be in soon," Ursula replied, looking around.

Paige looked around too before she saw the Sumner sisters on the other side of the gym.

"I'll be right back," she said to the other Protectors before she walked over to the Sumner sisters.

Amarys looked at her and smiled, "Hey, Kitten."

"Hi," Paige replied with a soft chuckle, "are you going to spar?"

"Nah," Destiny shook her head, "we're just watching. Anyone with disabilities can observe on the sidelines. And if they want to spar, they can use their magic."

Paige blinked in surprise. "Simple as that, huh?"
She glanced around for a moment before she saw Petunia chasing a laughing Jinx around the room.

Amarys glanced at Paige and hummed softly, "What's on your mind?"

Paige started to fiddle with her necklace. "Do... you think I'll do well in sparring?"

Destiny looked at her, then at Amarys, then back at the Evaran. She furrowed her eyebrows, "Why wouldn't you do well? It's not like you'll stay on the sidelines after your first spar."

Paige pursed her lips into a tight line. "I mean... this isn't my first time sparring. I've been sparring with Robert McCall."

"The scary Evaran who seems to know how to take down an entire mafia in a single night?" Amarys questioned, her eyebrows raised in genuine surprise and slight nervousness.

Paige flushed, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh gods," Destiny chuckled.

"Lady Corice is arriving!" A nineteen-year-old boy announced. He had porcelain skin, dark brown hair with a light brown highlight, and deep blue eyes.

All the teens quickly hurried to the bleachers, quickly taking their seats as Lady Corice walked into the gym. She was wearing an outfit that almost looked akin to the students' gym sparring outfit. It was a dark long skirt with two gold folds at the front and strapped with a light purple belt, featuring an open jacket with a light gray shirt underneath, and she was also wearing silver-plated bracers and boots.

"Shouldn't we be wearing something like that?" A nineteen-year-old girl asked Miguel. She had porcelain skin, dark mauve hair, and unnatural mauve-colored eyes.

"Eh, I guess?" Miguel shrugged. "I think it's something that only the teachers wear. Our outfits are just for inside training."

"Alright, students, I know that most of you have decided to start sparring again," Lady Corice began. "And it does my heart good seeing others dedicated to studying, but you also have to learn how to defend yourselves."

Isn't studying part of that too? Natalia thought with a confused tilt of her head.

Petunia raised her hand. "Lady Corice, what exactly are we defending ourselves from?"

Lady Corice froze in surprise before she sighed softly. She had a feeling this would come up. She cleared her throat.

"Corrupted Stars," she answered. "Eldritch-like animals that have been corrupted by the power of black holes, accretion disks, and event horizons."

Marcellus frowned deeply. "Where are they now?"

Lady Corice fell silent as she stared at the floor. Paige frowned nervously, and Amarys narrowed her eyes.

Before Lady Corice could open her mouth, a silver-haired man walked into the gym, wearing the same outfit as her.

"The Corrupted Stars are being taken care of. Hunted down, captured, and killed," he said calmly, his deep blue eyes narrowing. There was a scar on the right side of his face.

"Will we fight any of them?" Demetrius asked curiously.

"No," Lady Corice and the man immediately and simultaneously said in stern voices, surprising Paige.

"Goodness knows what would happen if any of you were ever to come across a Corrupted Star," the man huffed. "You will only learn about them, if not how to merely observe your teachers on how to capture them. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Telemachos," the students immediately replied.

Lady Corice cleared her throat. "Now... with that out of the way, we shall get started on sparring. If you'd like, Lord Telemachos, you are free to watch or supervise alongside me."

"Thank you for the offer, Lady Corice, but I'm afraid I won't be able to today," he replied, lifting his hand slightly. "Headmaster Prokopios insists that I continue my patrols. Good luck though."
With that, he turned and walked out of the gym.

"Well, he's a barrel of laughs," Rhonda whispered to Anika, who chuckled slightly.

Lady Corice cleared her throat. "Well, then... Paige Kendrick, you will be sparring against Marcellus Kramer."

Charlotte tensed up, and Harry gave Marcellus a glare as the Dosyrian stood up.

"With respect, Lady Corice, maybe Paige should spar with someone else," an eighteen-year-old boy piped up hesitantly. He had sand-colored skin, light, dusty brown hair with a pale orange highlight, and light spring green eyes.

"I understand your concerns, Macallen," Lady Corice hummed, "but it is important for Paige to spar as well."

"That's awfully suspicious," Brenda said with a deep frown.

Lady Corice gave her a warning look before clearing her throat again, this time the sound sharper than the first.

Paige got up and walked after Marcellus.
The dual-blooded boy turned to her, his wolf tail swaying behind him.

"Try not to get too anxious, Princess," he chuckled as he got into a defensive stance.

Paige swallowed as she also got into a defensive stance.

"Ready... begin!" Lady Corice said.

Marcellus shifted into his dragon form and leapt at her with a snarl.

Paige quickly shifted into her wolf form and ran to the other side of the ring.

She unfolded her dragon wings before she whirled around and leapt forward. She jumped onto Marcellus's back, making him grunt in surprise as he hit the floor.

He growled and quickly rolled onto his side, flinging the Evaran off of him.

She quickly landed on her paws before she glared at Marcellus, her wolf tail lashing sideways.

Marcellus growled softly before he charged at her with a snarl. He fired a bright red ball of fire at the dual-blooded girl.

Paige quickly reared back, and a wave of crystals flew up in front of her. The fireball slammed into the crystal, and Paige looked at the crystal wave in surprise.

Marcellus leapt over the crystal wave and tackled Paige, eliciting a startled yelp from the girl.

The two Transcendants tumbled over each other, and Paige instinctively bapped at the Dosyrian, growling and hissing.

Marcellus reeled back. "Gah! What the—?!" He yelped and grunted in surprise when Paige headbutted him hard in the chest, knocking him back.

"Ooh," some students winced.

Marcellus stumbled backward and he growled loudly before glaring at Paige. "Okay," he snarled before he charged at her again at full speed.

Before she could conjure up any fire or crystals, the Dosyrian slammed into her, knocking her to the floor.

Before she could recover from the surprise attack, Marcellus swiped his claws across her face, scratching her cheek and creating three bloody gashes across her face.

"Marcellus!" Lady Corice shouted, her eyes narrowing. Marcellus didn't say anything nor did he let Paige up.

Paige yelped in pain and tried to quickly get up, but Marcellus grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, hoisted her high into the air, and brought her back down to the floor.

THUD! SNAP!

"Paige!" Harry shouted, jumping to his feet, his eyes widening in alarm.

Paige yelled in pain, trembling as she shifted back into her human form. She was holding her shoulder.

Marcellus pressed his claws on her side, growling. Suddenly, Gregory tackled the dual-blooded Transcendant, snarling. He punched him hard in the face, and there was a small snap.

Marcellus growled in anger before he kicked him off and quickly jumped on him, raking his claws down the Irilian's side. Blood dripped down his nose.

"Enough!" Lady Corice demanded, lifting her hand in a swift motion. Marcellus and Gregory both yelled in surprise and protest as her magic sent them flying across the floor, and Marcellus grunted as he found himself pinned down.

Harry ran over to Paige. Kaitlin, Ivan, and Amarys quickly hurried after the Dosyrian.

"Gregory, with me. Xaden, get Paige to the healers," Lady Corice said sternly as she stormed over to Marcellus. She grabbed him by the arm and nearly dragged him out of the gym with Gregory following close behind.

Paige whimpered, trembling. Her vision swam, and she could feel her heart pounding in her ears. She felt someone—presumably Xaden—pick her up, and she felt darkness pierce the corners of her vision.

She mumbled weakly before she slowly found herself passing out.