The Echoes of Rivalry & Ruin (The Acamancy Series I)

Chapter 4: The Dream Tour

Before I even had time for the impact of Dean Philips' words to sink in, he was gone, and the stage was silent. But not for long, staggering across the stage is a group of individuals who look not much older than myself. There are around 10 of them, most are male but there is a good number of young women up there as well. They could not be more diverse in their features, but they are all dressed identically in a black long-sleeved shirt, hunter green pants, and black combat boots that go up to the middle of their calves. The girl's tops have a v neckline that is modest but clearly there, their pants are fitting but not tight, and the boots complete the look. The boys have 3 buttons and a collar on their shirts, many of them wear some kind of black jacket over their shirts, despite the fact it is August and still 80 degrees outside, their pants are more of a cargo style just without as many pockets, and the boots look much less stylish and much more functional on them. From the middle of the pack a young man steps forward to the microphone, while the rest of the group stands a few steps behind with their arms behind their back, and their eyes glued on nothing above our heads.

"Welcome Year Ones, to Acamancy, my name is Jameson Yearwood, I am a Year Three, Water Mani, and an Element Classification Leader," He begins. Not a stutter in his words, or a pause of hesitation. Jameson does not have the same leave of elegance and demand for attention Dean Philips naturally possesses, but his confidence and leadership skills are not to be debated.

"Myself and my fellow Year Two and Three Leaders, behind me, will act as tour guides for the remainder of orientation. We also will be a point of contact for you Year Ones. The Year Twos on stage with me are Dorm Advisors and Group Leads. Us Year Threes are Element Leaders. For those of you who are not as familiar with the rating here at Acamancy I will explain. Year Ones will not hold a leadership title, following your Level One End of the Year Exams, or EYE1, you will be placed for next year. Each year you have 7 courses that are split into 4 categories. Category one is History and Genetics, category two is Manipulation Skills, category three is Societal Skills, and category four is Strength and Leadership. The first three categories are based directly on your scores on your EYEs and your grades in the classroom for said category's classes. The last category is not one you are tested on in your EYEs, your Battlefield classes are not graded other than attendance and participation scores, but it is perhaps the most important category, especially if being a leader and future part of this school is of interest to you," Jameson continues.

"We take the score from each category and place you in an overall level for the next year. Those of you who score below an overall 60% on EYEs, Graded assignments, Participation and attendance, will not move on to Year Two. you will be retained in Year One for a second time and will automatically lose opportunities to be a group lead when, and if, you do make it to Year Two. Those of you with scores between 61-100% will be promoted from Year One to Year Two. Those of you who work hard and make it to the top percentile of your class, with a minimum score of 90% will have the chance to place your name on the "Future Leadership List" to be voted in for the next year. There will be 2 Dorm Advisors, 3 Acamancy Planning Board spaces available, and 2 Group leader slots from each Elemental Domain. Meaning that we will have a total of 12 Group leaders, since the Fire Manipulators, present today, will be up for your own leadership positions, that are unique to the Fire Academy for Management and Containment. Once we finish this portion of Orientation you will be released into your own group, led by Dean Phoenix, and he will guide you to Fam-ac where you will have your own tour. On the way to Fam-ac Dean Phoenix will show you the location of classes and facilities you will use here at Am-c," Jameson states quickly before moving on in a haste.

I look around to see if I can spot any of the Fire Manis. I knew they had their own campus and wasn't sure they would be at orientation with us. You can usually spot a Fire Mani pretty easily, most of them have glowing red eyes, even when they aren't manipulating. My eyes glow blue when I manipulate, I have seen flashes of yellow in Leo's too. I know it's common for eyes to change color slightly and glow during manipulation, but due to a tight bloodline in the Fire Manis they all seem to keep passing down those glowing red eyes, even in their natural state. Before I get lost in scanning the rows for red eyes my focus shifts back to Jameson as he explains the leadership hierarchy further. I plan to climb that ladder as fast as I can, so I don't want to miss a single syllable.