The Dragoneer Manual

Chapter 9 - Professor Flame

The castle itself was definitely ancient. Rory could smell it when she walked in. Again there was a dichotomy between the age of the architecture and the technology that had clearly been implemented. The walls were cold and smelled damp, but the inside was brightly illuminated by modern light fixtures in the ceiling.

The castle was renovated, but it was clear that the architects had made an effort to keep the original facade as intact as possible. Jay led Rory down a long corridor in silence.

She was too in shock to speak, and Jay seemed to know it. They turned right into a second hallway, which then opened up to a large cathedral. Stained glass decorated the windows, and rays of colored light fell softly onto the long tables and chairs which took the place of benches.

At the head of the room, where the altar would normally be, a woman in a black and teal uniform was standing and making notes on a long table. She had short, slicked-back, bright red hair, sharp features, and a tall build. Her uniform consisted of black pants, a teal tie, and a black blazer which was longer in the back, with teal details on the sleeves and buttons.

When she looked up at Rory and Jay entering, Rory noticed that she had searing purple eyes. She tried her best not to act surprised, out of politeness. The woman raised up one hand to wave at the pair, revealing that the pattern crawling up her sleeves was a teal flame.

"Welcome," she said, her voice deep. "Only one recruit today, Bluejay?"

"Yeah," Jay said matter-of-factly.

Her eyes shifted to meet Rory's, and her face softened to a smile.

"And what might your name be, young Dragoneer?"

"Rory," she managed to squeak out.

"It is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to the academy, Rory. I should hope you will enjoy your time here. I'm Professor Flame, and I'll be one of your trainers."

Rory nodded politely, and Professor Flame made her way around the table and stepped down to be within arms-length of Rory. She took in Rory's appearance: disheveled wavey brown hair, an anime graphic t-shirt heavily stained with dirt and grass, brown hiking shorts, and filthy high top sneakers. In addition, there were tiny red scratches all over her arms and ankles.

Rory suddenly became self conscious and crossed her arms over her stomach, but Professor Flame chuckled.

"Not to worry. I've seen much worse over the last few months," she said, her purple eyes glinting. "Please, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your dormitory."

"Alright, I'm clocking out," Jay said, with a smirk.

Professor Flame didn't acknowledge his joke at all, her face stern and serious. Jay squinted his eyes at Professor Flame, and when she turned, he made a pouting face. Rory chuckled at the scene but Professor Flame remained completely oblivious.

"The cathedral is where we will be having our classes. You'll have four professors in total. Then, of course, we have our training grounds as well, which will be part of your curriculum. You made it just in time, because orientation for the freshman class is happening tonight. The other recruits have been waiting for several days."

They passed several doors in a hallway before they arrived at what was to be Rory's dormitory. There was a panel next to the door which was painted the same color brown as the wall. Professor Flame touched it lightly, and it lit up, revealing itself to be a screen.

Rory was taken aback by how out of place this bright panel felt when compared to the antique nature of the castle. Professor Flame ran through a few settings on the touch screen and then turned to Rory.

"It's going to do a scan of your right eye."

Rory leaned in obediently and a bright laser shot into her retina. She flinched and pulled away, seeing spots in her vision.

"Sorry, if I'd have warned you, it would have been more difficult."

The door clicked and Professor Flame pushed it inwards.

The interior of the room contained a simple bed, whose teal sheets matched the Professor's uniform. The walls were empty and undecorated, but to the left was a small desk, a clock, and a bulletin board, and beside that was a door to a bathroom and shower. On the desk was a brown paper box.

"Orientation will be at 7 tonight at the cathedral. You remember how to get there, I presume?"

Rory nodded.

"The other Professors and I look forward to seeing you this evening. Please change into the uniform provided on your desk and arrive at 7pm sharp."

Professor Flame smiled and exited the room.

Once she'd gone, Rory ran up to the desk to open the box.

The design on top of the box was a faded watermark of a dragon with its long tail pointed up to the sky. The dragon's large, horned head was looking over its shoulder and breathing out a massive flame. Rory felt like a little kid opening a birthday gift, her hands shaking with excitement.

She smiled wide at what she saw. Slowly and delicately, she removed a folded jacket from inside the box and gazed intently at it, admiring how beautiful it was. The fabric was very high quality, and heavy in weight. It was light grey, with a simple teal stripe at the base of the sleeves and the hems of the jacket. On the left breast pocket was a dragon's claw embroidered in teal. The jacket was neatly pressed, and longer in the back, like Professor Flame's.

It was all Rory could to do repress a happy squeal. The rest of the box contained a simple white button down shirt and black pants. Rory was itching to try it all on but, looking down at her soil stained shirt, she knew she'd better take a shower first.

--------

A/N: What are your thoughts about the world so far? <3