The Dragon Thief [I]

From Moon to Mage [10]

From Moon to Mage

Lannasia

The ceremony was pious and boring.

When Lanna received her first tattoo behind her ear, it was in the middle of the night by some sketchy artist in a dingy alleyway. The Mage's Guild held a ceremony for new enrolling students at the beginning of every semester, and Lanna had been expected to attend. It was a whole lot of sitting around, listening to long-winded stories and a lot of awful clapping. Why there was an audience and who it consisted of, she didn't really know.

When it finally came time to begin marking the students, Lanna thought she was going to fall asleep. Her name was then called and she walked across the lecture hall stage to receive her tattoo as graciously as she could. What she was expecting was a person with a needle and some ink, but instead what she got was a firm, burning handshake from a black-robed mage. By the time the mage had finished muttering to himself and released her hand, she looked down to see a sore blue ℳ on her middle finger. And that was that. When it wrapped up, the students fell into the crowd to mingle. Lanna stuck to the edge of the large lecture hall awkwardly, watching as hugs and tears ensued. Was it really that special an occasion?

"Congratulations Lanna," said a familiar old voice. Alderyth joined Lanna with Nox grumpily standing behind him. Since Lanna had announced her intention to study as Alderyth's second apprentice, Nox had grown distant and cold. The face he wore no doubt spelt that he was forced to be here today. Lanna smiled at Alderyth.

"Thank you, Alderyth-or should I call you Master, now?" The joke earned Lanna a glare from Nox. She secretly enjoyed pissing him off.

Alderyth nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, I suppose you would call me Master now. I will have you start in your novice classes first so that you may grasp a fundamental understanding of magic before I begin personally teaching you, however, in due time I will be tasked to lead you on your path of mastering your magic. I look forward to when that time comes."

"Did the tattooing hurt?" Nox asked, a bitterness in his tone. Whatever development Lanna thought they had made was crushed by her decision to enroll at the guild. She rolled her eyes.

"I think I can withstand a little magical tattoo. I have a dragon living inside me, remember?"

Alderyth frowned.

"Lanna, perhaps it is better that you do not readily flaunt that piece of information so loudly to a room of strangers," her master warned. "It is something that should only be discussed in private."

Alderyth had already explained that days before. Those who knew of Lanna's situation were Alderyth and Nox, naturally, the Archmage of the guild, and the Head Healer of the Healer's quarters (who was tasked with healing Lanna after her return from the salkazdra den). Due to the significance of the beast she had soul-bound, it was agreed upon that the dragon soul she now harboured within her was not to be made common knowledge, for her own safety and for the safety of others.

Regrettably, Lanna apologised.

"Lanna Sinclair?"

A new voice interrupted their conversation. Lanna turned on the ball of her heels and was met by a young woman with vibrant purple hair. The woman was pretty with dark coloured skin and golden brown eyes. She was dressed in white mage robes.

"That's me," Lanna answered, her new name awkward to her ears. Lanna Sinclair. That was her assumed identity at the guild. When she enrolled, they requested her personal details. The information she gave was of course all falsified, pseudonyms she'd used throughout her life as a master thief. She didn't want them background checking her and finding out she was a wanted criminal, after all.