My first feeling was that I was gliding on something soft and fluffy, like a cloud. I cautiously opened my eyes and looked around in awe. I was gliding on a soft ribbon of light. All around me were other ribbons, shining in the colours of the rainbow. They twisted and turned out of my sight and I could spot other figures gliding on them. A girl around my age waved cheerfully as she glided past me on her own ribbon. Before I could ask her where she was going, I saw my ribbon connecting to another portal - the end portal, I assumed. "Whoa!" I said and before I realized what was happening, I slid into it.

I closed my eyes, expecting to gently tumble onto the ground. Instead, I found myself falling straight down. "AHHHHHH!" I screamed as I plummeted. As I approached the ground, I saw what I assumed to be the main hall. A group of new students in the Silverleaf uniform were sitting in rows, listening to a woman on the stage. At the sound of my screams, everyone looked up. I felt my face warming. Out of all the possible ways I could make my entrance into an academy of magic, it had to be this. The ground was approaching quickly, and I close my eyes, bracing for the impact.

But it never came. I opened my eyes to find myself floating down in a clear bubble and spotted the woman from the stage holding out her index finger. She calmly flicked her finger and burst it open. I tumbled ungracefully on the ground, my face burning.

"And I declare this to be the first magical mishap of the year", the woman said calmly. Based on her outfit and attitude, she seemed to be an important person, probably the headmistress or a teacher. "You are Selene Perez, I assume," she said. "The very last of our new students to arrive." "I apologize, ma'am," I said, keeping my head down. The last thing I wanted to do would be to attract attention to myself. Ignoring the whispers of the other students, I walked quickly to the last empty seat.

"I will now be talking about the Choosing." the woman said, continuing on as if nothing had happened. "As you all may know, the Choosing is where your element, or possibly elements, will be revealed. Based on this element, your House will be chosen. Students usually choose the House based on their main element. At the end of every year, the best student from each House will compete in the Elementalist's Challenge. Our winner from last year was Vincent Pargard, from the House of Flame."

"That's the house I'm hoping to be in." said the girl beside me. She had bright green eyes and red hair that seemed all over the place. "I'm Selene." I said, with a smile. "Misha." she replied. "Quite an entrance, wasn't it?" "It was unplanned, but I'm honestly not surprised" I replied. "I only found out about my powers yesterday." Misha looked surprised. "You never knew?" she said, sounding astonished. "The gift skipped my Mum." I said, "I didn't know until I came to my grandparents." "Oh. Well, my parents tested me the moment I could walk." Misha said. "Our whole family has been in House of Flame, so that's kinda what they expect from me".

"Now, everyone rise and make a line for the Choosing!" the woman in the front called out loudly. "Who is she?" I asked, frowning at her authoritative words. "You really don't know, do you?" said Misha, sounding amused. "Well, she's Headmistress Goldenburg. One of the best Attuned in the whole of Azala. Very strict, but extremely skilled. You don't want to ever get on her bad side."

There was little time to talk after. Headmistress Goldenburg led the line of new students through a maze of hallways until we reached a seemingly random tapestry. "Revelare" Headmistress Goldenburg said. Instantly, the tapestry shimmered and faded away, revealing a door behind it. She opened it and said "Miss Opilio, you first." An obviously popular girl stepped inside amid various words of encouragement from her friends. "Who is she?" I whispered to Misha. "That's Freya Opilio." she replied. "Her family makes a fortune from producing flying carpets. Her story's pretty tragic, though. She used to be super outgoing and everything, but her twin Sage died a year ago, and she's never been the same since. She prefers to keep to herself now." "Losing a loved one must be very tough." I thought, thinking back to Mum and Dad. Before Misha could reply, Headmistress Goldenburg called out "Miss Perez." I walked forward with my head held high, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. "Time to find out what my element is...", I thought, as I stepped into the room.