Nightfall

Chapter 16: Surviving the Cut

The person we found standing in the doorway was no ordinary lady. The armor she wore was actually made of many different small pieces of metal somehow connected into a full suit; allowing for a large range of motion. She had glasses, dark brown hair in a ponytail, and was chewing gum. Giving her the appearance of some kind of half librarian, half warrior woman.

"We're the first ones? Awesome!" I exclaimed, "What do we do now?"

"No, you're not the first. Just the first for today. Yesterday we had around two hundred come through."

Oh. Well first for the day is still better than nothing.

"Well I'm assuming you're here for the academy. Follow me kiddos."

"Kiddos?" I mumbled as Anya and I enter through the looming doorway.

On the inside the castle seemed far less medieval. In fact, it reminded me more of a luxurious hotel than anything else. The entrance hall had a thick, ornate rug laid out along its length, covering its old, dark wood floor. There was a large chandelier that hung from the domed ceiling and floated in air above us that illuminated the room. Large windows and paintings sat on on either side of us, and towards the far end of the hall there was a receptionist sitting at a desk and staring at a fancy computer. Stone made up the domed ceiling and the walls were clad in old wood paneling. There was warm light spread throughout the room and it had a calm, regal air about it.

The lady closed the door behind us and led us to the desk attendant. On either side of the receptionist the long hall split and turned into two large hallways that were littered with doors all the way down.

"Well, it looks like we're getting an early start today aren't we Elizabeth?" the clerk said.

She chuckled a little. "Yeah, that's what I get for volunteering for morning shift." Then she turned to us and ordered, "State your names, elemental type, and any weapons you intend to bring into the school. If any of these are found to be false or misleading you will be expelled. So answer honestly."

"Uh, okay." Anya started a little nervously. "I'm Anya Shepner, I'm a wind elemental, but I prefer to convert my aura into electricity. And I'm bringing two lightning daggers, I found them so I don't actually know what they're called precisely."

"May I see them?" the attendant asked.

"Yes, give me a second please." She dropped her pack and pulled out the two daggers we had found on our training mission a little over a month ago and placed them on the desk.

"Wow, now where did you get those?" The iron clad lady to our side asked.

"We found them." I explained. "We were on a training trip a month or so ago, and we just, found them. Is there something the matter with them?"

"No, but the metal they are made of is extremely rare. It amplifies Ethral abilities."

I explained to her that we had sort of figured out the aura amplifying properties on accident as the attendant filled in Anya's information and took a picture of her knives. Next, it was my turn.

"I'm Stone Reinhart. I'm a kinetic. And I have this thing." I said as I set my dragon blade on the table.

At the sight of it the attendant and our guide exchanged looks. "You two are definitely not run of the mills. How did you find one of the six dragon knives?"