The Summoner's Mark (First Draft) (Book One)

Extinction or Change

Sin awoke on the morning of his first day of classes, feeling a sense of both excitement and doom. Deciding that it would be more beneficial for him to push his mind towards the more thrilling part of his feelings, Sin did just that and focused on making this day one of the best out of his entire time within the Academy.

Due to the Academy having a dress code, Sin had bought a few outfits that would match with the rules that Kanerra had for its students. This outfit was designed to be both stylish and combat efficient since Mages within the Zesian Dynasty were treated as nobility amongst the commoners.

Just like every other student within the Academy unless they thought that it would be an intelligent idea to flaunt their disregard for Academy rules; Sin was dressed in a pair of black trousers that were lined with a dark crimson red though this wasn't the only item upon his body that resembled blood since the entirety of Sin's shirt was colored in the same crimson that lined his pants.

The moment that Sin felt the fabric of the uniform touch his skin, he felt as if it somehow washed his upbringing as a half-breed orphan away since every other student within Kanerra, Academy for the Arcane was supposed to look the same; at least when it comes to the uniform that they wear.

Considering that Sin was nervous about being late on his first day; he arrived at the designated meeting spot for all the first years thirty minutes before they were even scheduled to arrive which meant that he was the first out of all his classmates to do so. Once Sin had arrived, he had trouble deciding which seat he should take since he didn't want to feel the suffocating stares of his classmates who already despised him and didn't want to miss out on anything that was said or done by the Mage that would be teaching this class. After a considerable amount of time, Sin chose a seat that was in the middle row but also a seat that was at the end of said row in hopes that this would deter others from hampering his learning by sitting beside him.

This entire process took about fifteen minutes which cut his waiting time down by half and by the time that Sin had finally claimed his seat; others began flooding into the room since they must have also felt like being early would due them good. From watching the other first years come into the class, Sin could see that his plan was working since everyone so far had chosen seats a distance away from him.

However, this was not something that the fates were going to allow for much longer since mere moments after the last of the first years made their way into the room; Sin watched as the elf that had caught his interest two weeks ago sat in the seat directly beside him. The instant that Sin had sighted the fiery red-haired male, his breath caught in his throat which made it hard for Sin to focus on anything other than Castien's presence next to him and though Castien had yet to speak to him; Sin felt as if his heart were about to break free from his chest. "It might be harder to focus on this class than I first anticipated." Sin concluded as he forced his eyes away from the striking young man and towards the front of the class to await the entrance of the Mage that would be teaching this class.

*

"I would like to give a big welcome to everyone who has been accepted into the Academy and though I will not be one of your teachers unless you decide to focus on locating and recovering magical relics of the past; I will be the one that is leading you through this orientation." Sierra called out as she stood down below the students in the area that was cleared of anything that would get in the way of Sierra and the six other Mages that stood beside her.

When Sin had first seen Sierra enter the room, he felt relieved that someone who could stand his presence would be leading the room though when the other Mages appeared behind her especially the one Mage that he wished to never see again; Sin felt this relief fade away and he began to feel slightly more nervous than what he was when he had first got up for the day.

Due to the nervousness that was flooding through his body and leaking from every pore, Sin wished to disappear and actively thought that leaving would be his best course of action but instead of doing this; he forced his body to stand still. "You can do this! Just remember that graduating from Kanerra will allow you to prove to everyone that you are much more than what they have always thought you were!" Sin chanted to himself as he focused on the Mages before him which proved to be the correct course of action since Sierra started to speak once more.

"The manner that we have you set up for the first portion of the day is not how we do things within this Academy and the only reason we are now is so we can explain the different types of Magic that our students are able to learn while they are here though before we get too in depth with this; our Battle Master wishes to speak to you about the second course that every student is required to take while studying here." Sierra explained before stepping back and allowing Sten to step forward.

Even though it was clear that the students were waiting for Sten to start speaking to them; he was busy looking over the class until his eyes finally settled upon Sin and from the hatred that danced within the human's eyes; Sin knew that his time within the Academy may not be as pleasant as he wished it too would be. Once again, Sin felt the urge to flee and once again he had to force himself to sit still unless he wanted to fail out of the Academy before the year had even truly begun. "You can not allow that racist prick to stop you from reaching your goals!" Sin growled as he focused his mind and allowed his own disgust for Sten to enter his eyes.

"Currently, you all wouldn't last a minute against the trained soldiers of those who could be our empire's enemies once again which is the reason that I will be training you throughout your time here in the art of warfare..." Sten barked as he continued to keep his eyes locked onto Sin. "...when I first entered the Academy, Mages within these walls only focused on developing their magic which left them completely unprepared when it came to war. Our Mages were being decimated faster than we could replace them, and we were on the verge of becoming extinct unless we changed how we operated within the Academy walls." Sten explained as he brought his eyes away from Sin so he could scan over the rest of the class.

Considering that Sin detested this man, he wished to push everything that he was hearing away from his mind. However, since what Sten was saying made sense to him; Sin thought that it might be best that he listened to what the other male had to say since it was possible that Sten had some useful information and skills that he could pass down to the newer generation of Mages within Kanerra.

Knowing this, Sin felt that he needed to push his opinion of the Mage to the back of his mind and focus on the words that Sten was bombarding them with.

"I along with a few other Mages who are no longer with us, worked together to reform our Academy's curriculum by having students train not only in their chosen fields of magic but also focus on a combat-oriented program. Though I doubt that any of you within this room could ever gain the skill to make a battle-hardened warrior quiver in fear; I will at least be able to give you the ability to keep yourselves alive if you ever managed to get yourself into a life-or-death situation." Sten stated as he stepped back into the line of Mages that stood behind him.

As Sten did this, he flicked hisgaze back towards Sin and soon dropped his hand down to the hilt of his sword. Itcould have possibly been a trick that his mind was playing on him; but Sinswore that within the hatred that danced within Sten's eyes, that he saw apromise that those skills would be needed much sooner for him than any of theother first years.