I looked at the rectangular opening in the metallic door that hinted at the orange ambience inside and raised my arm to knock-

“No need to knock, come in. The door is open.” A voice inside said sternly.

 I pressed against the metal and pushed; the warm glow teased by the small cut in the door earlier engulfed me as I entered. I shut the door behind me and faced the Director. She sat with an elegant posture behind her crowded, yet meticulously tidy desk. Her chestnut hair was perfectly combed in a side part with it tied up at the back. She wore her classic viridian suit that buttoned at the waist with a white shirt poking out the gap in the suit blazer.

 The Director removed her glasses and placed them carefully onto her desk below.

“Quickly take a seat.” She instructed, raising her arm, and ushering me to sit opposite her.

I moved the chair back and sat down, scooting it in towards the desk. Her beady eyes looked at me up and down; I could never easily read what she was thinking.

“Happy Birthday.” She exclaimed. A smile appeared on her face. “It wasn’t long ago when you were a little baby at my doorstep.” I hid a grin that appeared on my face by looking at my feet. “I’ve got a couple of little gifts for you but before I give them to you let me just talk to you first.”

I responded by sitting blankly and nodding.

Acknowledging that she had my attention she placed her glasses on the tip of her nose, they were a mahogany brown with a certain elegance that matched her persona. She looked down at her desk, sifting through some papers and cleared her throat. 

“Right, so as you know you will be travelling to the Capital today.” She looked up to make sure I was following before returning her gaze to the notes in front of her. “When you arrive, you know you need to head to the Borealis Academy preliminary exam,” she paused, “but, and I stress - if you do not get in you will have to find a job in the city or you will not survive. “ 

“Yes yes, the only school in the capital.

“Correct. The most prestigious one in fact.” The Director replied.

“If I don’t get in, can I not just apply to another school in a different city like Incander?”

“Students can only apply to one each. That’s why it’s important to be accepted, if not you’ll have to find a ‘normal’ job.” She raised her hand and bent her two fingers in a satire to suggest normal was simply a job that required no auroral expertise. 

“I’m assuming there is some kind of test then?” I asked.

“Multiple tests. But you will find that out when you cross those bridges.” She paused and studied my reaction.

“I know little about magic only stuff from the books in the library. In fact, you haven’t taught anyone here at all. How will I be able to get in? I’ve heard you talking about the talents of nobles in meetings before, surely it will be impossible.”

“Mmm. Yes, you are correct. ‘commoners’ like you would not have had as many resources to improve their skills, but that does not mean you cannot pass. The academy takes in hundreds of students. The majority will be nobles, but the school is obliged to take in some ‘commoners’ as well. Besides, you seemed to have figured something out yourself.”

A surprised expression appeared on my face.

How did she know? 

The Director smiled with a playful grin.

“Moving swiftly on, I have packed a bag of belongings for you.” The Director pointed towards my right-hand side. On the ground was a rucksack. “In there are just some of the things you will need, the others you will need to figure out by yourself.”  

I looked back up at her as she continued. It seems she didn’t want to put everything on my plate.

“Right, this is the most important part so make sure you’re listening because I won’t say it again. Where is it?” She swiped sheets of paper around her desk inspecting each of them. 

“You know if the room lit up more brightly working would be easier. Isn’t there a better way to get light than oil lamps now?” I commented, slightly amused by her rare unorderly preparation.

“Don’t be silly, modern things are unreliable.” She replied with a harsh tone, probably more annoyed with herself than my suggestion I thought. “Here it is.” The middle-aged woman pulled out a piece of paper. “Here are your directions to the city.” She handed it to me. I gripped the crisply folded piece of paper and placed it in a pocket. “Make sure you follow them to the tee because the preliminary test is in 3 days. Also, about your name and other information, “ The beady-eyed woman looked me straight in the eye.

“What about it?”

“You don’t have a surname which is slightly unusual even for commoners. Of course, nobles flout their names to anyone they pass by on the street with a puffed chest but commoners choose to represent their family as one can gain status for the name more easily from within the capital walls.”

“I think I’ll just stick with Sam.”

Besides I’m not sure what other names I would call myself, it would seem ingenuine if I gave myself a made-up name I thought. Since my birth parents didn’t want anything to do with me why should my name to relate them at all. Or anyone for that matter.

“If you insist, but it will bring more attention towards yourself which, and I do not stress this enough, you want to avoid. Also, I have put all your legal documentation in your bag. In your personal details, I have made a few tweaks to make it look like you didn’t grow up here.”

“Why?” I pressed, wholly confused.

“Don’t worry. Now would you like your gifts?” My face awoke from its expression of boredom and confusion, and I sat forward in my seat.

The Director stood up from her chair and approached the cabinet behind her. She opened the glass door and reached inside avoiding the ornaments inside. I craned my neck to get a better view. Her hand pulled out a loose brick from the back wall the cabinet was mounted on. A small puff of red dust diffused into the air from the dislodged brick.

A sudden presence filled the room as she pulled out an amethyst-coloured ring and a small bag that was tightly knotted at the top. The director turned and placed the items on the desk in front of me.

I first picked up the bag and felt the weight and movement of the many pieces inside. No doubt it was a pouch of coins – pocket money for my journey ahead. I grinned at the director to show my gratitude as she watched intently.

What really sparked my interest was the ring.

I picked it up and held it to my eye.

Odd.

The presence the ring had omitted into the room was nonexistent as I picked it up. I rolled it around and inspected every bit of the item inside and out. My eye caught sight of an engraving on the inner of the item.

Three tally marks?

“Miss, what does this engraving mean?” I questioned, continuing to observe the ring.

“What keen eyesight you have.” The Director giggled. “You will understand the meaning when it is required for you to learn.” She responded cryptically. “Now you should better get going.”

The loud screech of her chair peeled my interest away from my gift. She had stood up abruptly and motioned to get my bag. I reacted by slipping the ring onto my right index finger and got to my feet, reaching for my belongings.

“Miss, you know I don’t understa-“ My question was cut short as I felt a breeze whipping around my ears and the back of my neck. The oil lamps perched around the room began shaking and their flames flickered. I turned my head back to the Director who was completely unaffected by the ever-growing gusts. The wind seemed to draw towards her, and the torrents of air spun in a violent cyclone around her.

“Good luck Sam, you’ll need it,” sounded the voice of the Director from the eye of the storm echoed through the rampage of magic. I struggled to keep balance as the ground shook beneath me. “Remember to trust nobody.”

“WAIT!” I cried.

In an instant the wind rushed to her outstretched hand that pointed towards me, it circled tighter and tighter around her palm. Then a pulse of aura radiated from the director’s body, and the wind aurora followed suit.

I was knocked off my feet and gasped as the power of the impact struck against my chest. I flew out the door of the office and down the main corridor. The walls a blurry fuzz around me, and the Director a green spot growing ever smaller in the centre of my clouded vision.

A cool calm air hit me as the aurora attack relented and I crumpled into the grass outside the orphanage main entrance. I started coughing, my temples popped, and my arms felt limp.

I propped myself onto my elbows, facing the main door.

“H…HEY I.. S…STILL HA…VE QU..ESTI-“

The main door slammed shut and the thud dispersed a murder of crows from the roof of the archaic building.

I lay paralysed at what happened.

My odyssey had begun.