When I first arrived at the academy, I was joined by two other new students. Jake Bailey and Gavin Phillips. The three of us woke up in the same room. I... didn't have the most composed reaction. There may have been screaming. And kicking. In my defense, Jake freaked out too. Gavin just seemed resigned to his fate. It's kind of funny, looking back. But after about 30 seconds of this, Benedicta Harewell entered the room. She levitated me and Jake off the ground and pinned us to the wall with the flick of her wrist.
"Whoa whoa whoa, take it easy. You guys are fine," she said.
"No, I am not fine. I was about to fall asleep one second in my health class, the next, I'm in some dark blue room with a weird starry paint job and a door that leads to someplace glowing! Nothing about this is fine!" I yelled.
"That paint job would be an enchantment to make this room look like it is made of the night sky. The door leads to a glowy place because it's a portal."
"Enchantment? Portal? What the fuck is going on here?" Jake said.
"You three are countless," Benedicta said. Then she dropped me and Jake on the floor. I landed on my butt. I may have yelped.
"Umm... ma'am, what do you mean by 'countless?' Without a count, unable to count..." Gavin trailed off.
"Wait, you don't know... what are the odds... Oh boy. Umm... I'm Benedicta Harewell, one of the assistant teachers here at the Academy. Someone who is Countless is a person born with magic."
The three of us gave her confused looks.
"Magic... are you serious?" Jake said.
"Yes. How else would you explain this?" Benedicta held out her hand and a pulsing orb of greenish-gray light appeared, hovering.
"Wait, I was about to fall asleep before I came here... this is a dream!" I mistakenly exclaimed.
"No, it's not. We bring people here when they fall asleep."
"Why you would do that?" Gavin asked.
"Because it's easier to- oh for fuck's sake. We don't have time for this. The three of you are students at The Academy of the Countless, and once you complete your studies you will be returned to the time you left, the exact same age and all that jazz, only being able to handle your magic and defend yourself should a Risen attack you."
"Risen? What the fuck is that?" Jake seemed rather fed up at the time. So did Benedicta. Looking back, he was just scared and covering for it. Benedicta on the other hand, was very fed up.
"Look, I'm not gonna hold your hand and walk you through everything. Risen are demons that feed off of Countless after killing them. You'll learn more in class. Now come on!" She opened the door and stepped in without waiting for us.
"Tell me we're not following the crazy lady through the glowing door," I said.
"Does it look like we have much of a choice?" Gavin said.
"Well, no-" I started.
"Aren't you guys curious!" Jake interrupted.
"Aren't you guys scared?" I said.
"Well duh! But that makes things fun! Hey, where are you two from anyways?" Jake said.
"Oakware... Missouri."
"Me too," Gavin said.
Jake gasped. "Same!"
"It makes sense. Keep people from the same area in the same room," Gavin mused.
"Um... names?" I said, suddenly shy. I wasn't a fan of randomly meeting people from my hometown. I don't like to run into people I know at the store.
Gavin and Jake gave me their names, and I gave them mine. Eventually, we stepped through the door.
YOU ARE READING
Academy of the Countless
FantasyWhen Rose Mullen discovers her identity as a Countless, she is whisked away to the exclusive Academy of the Countless, where she will spend the next four years frozen in time. At first, things are a bit odd, but that was to be expected giving she wa...
