Hunter and the Shadows of Distress

Hearthstone

I followed Swin through the big metal gates leading into Maridion. I immediately noticed that the city is a lot different to Beeliede. Not only is it bigger but everyone here seems so much nicer. I could see younger kids of varying races. Human and elf. I even saw a few bird creatures I don't recognize.
"They're Valkans they are. As you can see, Maridion is a paradise for people like us."
The boy turned around. During our journey I found out a few more things about Swin. He isn't Human. He is a Spectre. A being brought about by Spirit and are almost as hated as Decadents due to being considered Unnatural.

He placed a hand on my shoulder again and guided me through the crowd. I even noticed other decadents being accepted and included here. He smiled at me.
"Well here we are Hunter. The Arcane Paradox."
The shop itself seemed pretty small to me. The sign looked new and the font... Hah it's in cursive. Neat. I looked at the door and slowly opened it. Inside I could immediately see that it is much bigger and much more spacious.
"Hey Swin. Who is this you have brought?"
A man said, placing some books on the counter at the front.
"Hi Void. This is a friend of mine I met on the road. His name is Hunter."
I smiled shyly and waved at him. He smiled at me, looking me up and down.
"Ah. A decadent. It's nice to meet you Hunter. I'm Void"
I nodded and smiled softly at him. His smile, and everything about him really put me right at ease. He had a calming demeanor about him. I don't usually warm up to people quickly but both of these guys, Swin and Void, have won me over just because of how kind they have been.

"I was hoping he could stay here for a bit. I am hoping he could enroll in Hearthstone in the morning. Does he have the magicae in him?"
The Magicae? Oh right! Those are the genes that allow for the mages and sorcerer's to tap into the natural elements and wield them as spells.
"He does"
Void said at once as he looked down at me with a smile.
"As soon as you walked in here Hunter I felt a strong presence of magic I haven't felt in some time, and only one person I have encountered is as strong as you in magic."
I am powerful? I have magic? Perhaps I could make a life for myself here? I definitely could. I smiled at Void then at Swin who returned my smile.
"I don't attend Hearthstone. I attend the non magic school, Silver Valley. The two schools have a close relationship though so we will see lots of one another in due time"

I took a seat on the counter and swung my legs. Swin took off to go catch up with a few other friends of his. Void was busy working. He sold books, cleaned... Normal store owner stuff. The thing not normal is the use of magic. He used a blue code spell - Void said it was called Bulla - not many people paid attention to me. It seems like people are used to Void taking in strays such as myself.

A few hours later I asked Void "What is it like? Being nice to everyone even when they are not nice to you"
He looked at me and tilted his head as he thought of how to respond.
"I guess it's like this. I personally don't think that what people think matters, as long as you know your own self worth. If you need me to tell you your own, then you won't be happy because you won't believe me right?"
I actually understood that. It was a similar lesson papa imprinted in my brain. That sounds like he brainwashed me, I mean he taught me that from a young age.
"Yeah. My papa taught me that"
"It's a good lesson"
A voice spoke. The voice belonged, I found out to a dark skinned boy. If I was to guess then he will have hailed from our neighbors. The country of Zaraiah. There was another boy with him. They were holding hands which immediately caught my attention however I didn't mention it.
"Ah. Ben, and Nico. I was wondering if I'd be seeing you two today. Hunter, this here is Benjamin Addams and Nico Rivix. They attend the same school as S."
The taller boy, Ben I believe, spoke up and held his hand out to me,
"Nice to meet you Hunter"
I slowly shook the boys hand then repeated the process with Nico.

That was the last eventful thing to happen for a while until Swin returned and he brought friends. They looked identical. Identical brown hair. Identical height. The difference was in their eyes. One of them had deep blue eyes that shines like the ocean and the other had emerald greens which bore into my soul.
"Hi Void. Hi Hunter"
Swin grinned and leaned on my slightly. He then gestured to the brothers but before he could say anything, the one on the left spoke.
"Hi! I'm Jackson. This is Jasper, my twin brother. We heard a lot about you from S. So you're going to be enrolling at Hearthstone tomorrow? The term doesn't start for another week after all"
I was a bit taken with how energetic and talkative he was. It didn't really scare me though.
"Yeah. According to S and Void that is. I'll be meeting the headmaster... Uh"
"Aristotle Hyakuya. He allows us to call him by his name. Not his nickname which we all know he has 'Ari' only friends can call him that"
Jackson giggled. Jasper looked a little out of sorts, almost extremely shy. He gave me a gentle smile though as Jackson explained all this.

I spent a couple of hours getting to know the brothers. Jackson was so sweet and kind. Jasper was shy at first but he slowly opened up. He is very intellectual and used words that I sometimes did not understand. words like "Riotous" which he used to describe his brother. After a couple of hours, they had to head back to the school dorms. Swin opted to walk back with them. 

Void smiled at me and led me up the stairs to a small room which had a bed, a small desk and a set of drawers. It wasn't much but it still looked better than my old room. He slowly pushed me inside. I sat down on the bed. It was comfortable, really comfortable. Void laughed a little and took a seat beside me. "You can sleep here. when you are in Hearthstone, You can choose to stay here or stay at the dorms okay? now get some rest." He walked out and closed the door.

I flopped down on my back and sighed. I may only be here because of my pa's death but I am happy to be in such an accepting community. I was excited what tomorrow would bring. Sleep came easy after that final thought. I manipulated my dreams to be the ideal school life for me.

The next day, Void took me to meet the headmaster of Hearthstone. Aristotle Hyakuya. My first impression of the school when I saw it was "Wow" it is very grand. It's like a castle.
"It's..."

Void smiled at me and placed a hand on my shoulder with a smile on his face.
"I know. You aren't the first person to have that reaction. Come on Hunter"
Void led me in through the double gates of the school. I noticed that there were a lot of kids of all aged and all species living in harmony and practising spells. 

"Look out!" I immediately ducked as a rogue fireball nearly took my head off. The boy who accidentally did it ran over to me with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. I get too into my spell craft." The boy held out a hand for me to shake.
"I'm Avery. Avery Tallassy"
"Uh... Hunter, Hunter Shadows"
He nodded and smiled. He has this calming aura around him. It is hard to explain.
"Hey Avery! Oh hi Hunter!"
I looked towards the voice and smiled softly. It was Jackson. I was glad to see him. I waved then continued through the school where Void was waiting at the entrance with a slightly older man, chatting.
"Ah. Done making friends Hunter? This is the headmaster of this fine institution. Aristotle Hyakuya. Ari, this is Hunter shadows."
The man stared at me, silently judging me before his face broke out into a kind smile.
"Nice to meet you Hunter."
I had a question. How did he know my dad? Why did pa tell me to seek him out? But I feel like I should not ask so I didn't.

I was led inside. The inside is colourful. Each student is wearing a uniform, a gown and a tie. Some wore hats, some didn't. They were different colours. My guess is each student has a specialised code of magic. I wonder how that is determined if it is the case.
"Welcome to Hearthstone Hunter"

I was given a tour of the facility by Aristotle. He explained a bit of the history of Hearthstone to me.
"This school was founded by my great grandfather over a hundred years ago. He created it to be a safe and inclusive space for those with magical ability. They were called Darxian. Now we simply call them warlocks, mages or witches. Warlock is masculine. Mage is ambiguous. Witch is feminine"
I nodded along to everything he said when we arrived at a door. The door was big. Really big. Massive. It has the coded magic symbol engraved on the centre of it.

The symbol kind of looks like a circle with the six colours being mixed into one another and making some kind of abstract pattern. It is very difficult to explain.
"And here we are. The Joining room. This is the room where we figure out what magic new students will be most proficient in."
In the room there was a crystal ball on a pedestal. I had a hunch as to what I was to do but I waited for Aristotle to explain but he never did, Void explained it instead.
"You put your hand on the ball and wait. Once you see a glow, remove it and the room around us will tell us your proficiency by becoming that colour."

I nodded and walked forward slowly. I took a quick glance back at them and they nodded at me to go ahead. I placed my hand on the ball and immediately felt a sharp pain in my head. I gasped and leaned forward as colours swirled in my mind then it went white. I removed my hand then and watched as the walls of the room began to change colour. They turned white. And then black. Then yellow. Then red. Then green. Then finally Blue.
"This is almost unheard of..."
I heard Aristotle mutter then he walked up to me.
"Hunter. I think... You're an Arcaneom"