The Foreign Gates

Chapter:2- A New World

I just couldn't keep my mouth closed. Some locals found me in their city square and seeing me unconscious, brought me to the hospital. The great white building seemed easy to get lost in but the numerous translucent, Fay like creatures roaming the hospital's halls are happy to help guide the visitors to their destinations. These passlings, as people call them, can come off as pretty scary too or they say. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the man in a white coat with a clipboard some in. Jolted out of my thoughts, I realised that he was trying to gain my attention.

"Um...excuse me miss, but what might be your fair name?"

"Lu...Lucy Shaw. Who are you? What is this place?How long am I going to be here?"

"Whoa! That's a lot of questions Miss Lucy. I'm Lucas Rathgard, your doctor. I get that you're not from this world so you'll have to meet up with a friend of mine....a Mr. Heathrow. You'll find all your answers there. Now then, you are here by discharged. There is also a carriage waiting for you outside....later then."

And just like that, without another word, he left the room leaving me to my thoughts. I found thinking further on the topic a waste of time and sitting idle was no option. So I might as well check out this place.

I left my room with a spirit of curiosity for this strange place I landed at. I soon got lost however and needed the guide of a blabbering passling named Bob. The moment I spotted the doors, I shouted a hasty goodbye and dashed for the door. I must say, those few minutes with Bob were the longest of my life. What I saw outside blew my mind.

Outside, there were tall apartment complexes the size of business offices. The people wore long robes of all kinds of hues imaginable. There were no cars but there were carriages drawn by majestic horses with wings and of many colours. A huge projection without a backdrop hung in mid-air showing all the main headlines which could possibly not exist:

'Prince Marcus to be coronated this Friday.'

'UniCorp announces release of a new line of cauldron powerful enough for destruction potions soon.'

'Fights about land preservation in Unicorn Forest pursue.'

I mean, I can accept a Prince and maybe UniCorp is some sort of organisation but seriously, a unicorn forest? No way am I accepting that. As I continue to read these ridiculous headlines, a blue and gold carriage with an interstellar design pulled by magnificent white Pegasi. The man holding their reigns looked around before his eyes settled upon me. He jumped down but instead of landing on the ground, he glided forward and landed about a foot in front of me. He was a middle-aged man with a slight tan and strangely purple eyes. His outfit suggested that he was a butler to a rich household.

He walked over to me and extended his hand. I shook it and instantly felt an electric spark which disappeared the moment it appeared. He looked deep into my eyes in a slightly unnerving manner and in a seemingly emotionless manner, said,"Professor Heathrow awaits you at the Academy. I am to escort you and assess the situation. Please follow me."

The way he said 'assess the situation' made me feel that something was going on. But trusting the smile-a-lot doctor seemed my only option as I had the feeling that my conversation with my escort was over for the day. He guided me to the carriage door and once inside, I felt like I was a celebrity. The interior looked exactly like a limo's interior with soft leather seats and a table at the front which was screwed to the floor. There was beer, champagne, whisky and some other alcoholic drinks but I was never a fan of them so I let them be. I looked out the elaborate windows after pushing a satin curtain with a floral design aside.

I immediately felt nauseous. We seemed to be a hundred metres off the ground and flying at the speed of a race car. Not soon after I opened the curtain, I returned them to their original position. Soon after that, we landed and I got out. I front of me was a gigantic castle similar to the Victorian ages. The great oak castle doors were open and seemed to be welcoming me. A huge banner hung at the top with the symbol of a sword and a wand clashing on a purple backdrop. The initials on it were 'WA'. I wonder what that meant.

The butler motioned me to follow him and I did. The moment I walked into the halls however, I felt a shiver and soon I realised that everyone's eyes were on me and all that loud chatter I had heard outside had now reduced to whispers. Wherever I went, their eyes followed me. We climbed a few staircases and passed a few corridors before I began to feel exhaustion. The interior was also lavishly decorated in a mix of medieval and modern styles. There were many French Windows which showed the view of an afternoon Sun setting behind a forest and torches where instead of fire, there was a strange ball of light emanating from inside it. I got so indulged in observing the interesting decor that I bumped into the escort. As I backed up, I saw that we had stopped in front of another set of double doors. He opened them and walked in with me in tow.

Behind the doors was an office with long windows behind the desk facing a courtyard brimming with students. Seated at the desk was an elderly man checking some papers. If you can imagine Dumbledore with a more stocky build, then you basically know how he looked like.

"Professor Heathrow, I have brought her. I'll take my leave now",said the butler and with a short bow, he turned and closed the doors behind him. Professor Heathrow stood up, walked over to me and studied me with curious eyes. It was then that I realised that I was wearing very strange clothes in this stranger place. Then all of a sudden, he extended his hand and out of instinct, I shook it. Instantly, I felt the same electric spark that I felt when I touched the butler.

"Forgive me, but I forgot to introduce myself. I am James Heathrow, the Head Principle of this prestigious school, Wizenlock Academy. Here we teach the mystic arts of magic as well as knighthood for those who appeal for a more physical approach. Oh, yes, you must be quite confused as to why you are here, pulled away from your family."

Upon hearing the Professor's words, I instantly was struck with a pang of guilt. Till now, I had completely forgotten my family but I would make sure that it didn't happen again. But what intrigued me the most was that this man claimed that magic existed.

"You see,",he continued," there are many worlds with many different beings who live on it.the only way to travel between these worlds were through ancient portals but since that took a lot of time and energy, our ancestors created doors of magic which connected them to all the different worlds. However, for safety reasons, a spell was cast on them so that they are always on the move."

"Safety reasons?"

"Yes you see, due to the instability of connecting so many worlds, the door would send you to any world it wished instead of your intended destination. A similar situation as to how you got here Lucy."

I gasped. How did he know my name? I never gave it to him. He simply smiled and said that I would know soon.

"Would you like to study here? Since time passes differently between the worlds, a year here would be like one hour there, or something like that. You could learn to me a Mage or even a Knight."

As I considered my options, I decided that I might as well see this new world now that I was here. After all, its not like someone will notice my absence there. Then came the time for my next decision. Mage or Knight. For some strange reason, the idea of using magic on a daily basis appealed more to me than the idea of fighting dragons and ogres. So, it was pretty clear which option I would go with.

"I would like to be a Mage."

"Perfect. Classes start tomorrow. Your timetable and uniform along with your books will be sent to you in your dorm. Kent, the guy who picked you up, will show you your dorm and make you comfortable. Feel free to ask Kent about anything that troubles you. Good day."

He called Kent by name and he appeared by opening the door. The Professor gave him instructions and Kent asked me to follow him. We climbed up and down a few more stairs and passed through a few more corridors before arriving at a dissection. A signpost in the middle read:

Dormitories

<- Girls

Boys->

Following the sign, we turned left and climbed the staircase to a humongous corridor with more rooms than the eyes could see. We walked over to Room 77.

"I apologize for the lack of space for we had to put four people in a single room so as to accommodate everyone. This will be your room from now on. Everyone is already in bed so you will have to make acquaintances tomorrow. I'll take my leave now. Good night." And with those words, he turned and left, leaving me alone in the corridor in front of my new room.