Imperial High

ZACH

I looked at Principal Harrison. He had a well-kept beard and bushy hair. He had a kind face, and I could see the wrinkles that meant he smiled a lot around his eyes and mouth. So, this was the principal of the enigma that was Imperial High. It was surprising enough that as the principal, he wore the school uniform. More surprising was the way he told a story. I wouldn't be surprised if he also taught a literature class.

He scanned the crowd and as he opened his mouth, I could almost see the way everyone leaned forward imperceptibly. He had gained everyone's attention not only from the story he had told but how he had told it. While had told the story, images had been forming in my head. I felt as though I had experienced the War of Magics and been right beside the Seven as they fought the man.

He smiled at the way we watched him with rapt attention.

"I have been told by my associate that you all have questions. Well, I hope the story I just told helped answer some of them. There are some of you in the audience who might still be confused as to what is going on. That's perfectly understandable. As such, I'll be taking some questions before we go on our tour."

A hand immediately shot up. "Was I really appointed a scholarship?"

He shook his head ruefully. "Not exactly. Imperial High was created as a place where people with Magic might be able to harness their abilities. Now, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that Imperial High is a secretive institution. As such, we had to let parents who didn't know believe that their children had won scholarships to our school."

Another hand came up, this one a few rows away from me. "What do you mean by parents who didn't know?"

Principal Harrison smiled. "I wasn't sure if any of you would notice that. As I said, Imperial High has been around since the time of the War of Magics. Over time, the progress of Magic's civilization increased drastically. Some five thousand years ago, the Bureau of Magic was formed. You might as well regard it as the government of the Magic world. It is headed by The Board which consists of seven beings, though whether they are human, animal, male or female is unknown."

He smiled. "The Board are notorious for their love of privacy."

"The Bureau was created to regulate and govern the world of Magic. Around that time, humans were still discovering places and fighting territorial battles. We knew that unleashing the secret of Magic upon the world would have ended in a catastrophe, so we decided to work from the shadows. We ended wars and assisted in the development of humankind. In fact, the popular pyramids of Egypt were actually built by some of our—"

"You still haven't explained what this has to do with parents that didn't know."

It was the person who had asked the question. Principal Harrison sighed. "I was getting to that, but as you have so kindly pointed out, we do not have all the time in the world."

There were a few snickers among the crowd.

"Most of our graduates went to work for the Bureau, expanding its knowledge and power. A few went on to work in the human world, some because they simply desired the simple lifestyle it provided, others to keep humans from discovering about the world of Magic. One or two actually became the presidents of the country at different times.

What I'm saying is, the hundreds of thousands of students who have graduated from here have moved on and settled down, creating roots. Children of the graduates are referred to as Gens. Now, if you remember what was said in the presentation I just gave, Magic runs through everybody and everything. However, it can be dormant in some people, enabling them live a life without knowing they have Magic at all.